LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 

I]T3^^fe 

CluiiTT. Copyright No. 

Slielf__X]-^7fe . 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



WILD LIFE 



Under the Equator 



NARRATED FOR YOUNG PEOPLE. 




By PAUL^DU CHAILLU, 



AUTHOR OF 

'DISCOVERIES IN EQUATORIAL AFRICA," "STORIES OF THE 
GORILLA COUNTRY," ETC 



WITH NUMEROUS ENGRAVINGS, 




^oTU-'^'^ 



NEW YORK: 

HARPER 5: BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN SQUAKB 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 

Harper & Brothers, 

In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
District of New York. 



Copyright, 1896, by Paul Du Chaillu. 



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CONTENTS. 



PRELIMINARY CHAPTER Page 13 

CHAPTER II. 
Parrot Island. — How the Parrots build their Nests. — Parrot Soup 15 

CHAPTER III. 

An African Creek. — A Leopard among the Chickens. — A night 
Watch for Leopards 25 

CHAPTER IV. 
Hunting Elephants and Buffaloes.— A venomous Serpent.— A Snake- 
charmer. — He is bitten. — He commits Suicide 34 

CHAPTER V. 

At Court in Africa. — Costumes of the Court. — An African House- 
hold. — A false Alarm 44 

CHAPTER VI. 

Hunt for Gorillas. — A large one shot. — The Negroes make Charms 
of his Brain. — Mourning in a Bakalai Town 50 

CHAPTER VIL 

An African Fireside.— A Camp by the Sea-shore.— The first Gorilla 
Hunter. — Negro Blarney 61 



viii CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Hippopotamus hunting. — We kill one. — The Men eat it. — Poor 
Beef.— What the Tusks are for Page 69 



CHAPTER IX. 
A gieat Gorilla 73 

CHAPTER X. 

Death in an African Village. — Lamentations. — The Funeral Cere- 
monies. — An African Cemetery 82 

CHAPTER XI. 

A Tornado. — Before the Storm. — Thunder and Lightning. — After 
the Storm 87 

CHAPTER XII. 
A Creek infested by Snakes. — Snake in the Boat. — An ngly Visitor... 93 

CHAPTER XIII. 

Drinking the Mbonndou. — How Olanga-Condo could do it. — How 
the Mboundou is made. — The Effect of the Poison 101 

CHAPTER XIV. 

A royal Feast. — On the Banks of the Ovenga. — Preparations. — The 
Bill of Fare. — A taste of Elephant and a mouthful of Monkey 108 

CHAPTER XV. 

The terrible Bashikouay. — March of an ant Army. — They build 
Bridges. — They enter Houses. — Their Habits 114 

CHAPTER XVI. 

The Sorrows of the Birds. — Curious African Birds. — The Barbatula 
du Chaillui. — The Barbatula Fuli<;inosa. — The Svcobins Ni- 
gerrimus 126 



CONTENTS, iX 

CHAPTER XVII. 

On the Ofoubou River. — Elephants bathing. — Pursuit through the 
Swamp. — Escape of the Elephants Page 138 

CHAPTER XVIII. 

Njali-Coudie. — An African Town. — The Chief. — Courtship and Mar- 
riage in Africa. — Buying a Wife. — Quarrel over the Spoils 145 

CHAPTER XIX. 

The Feast of Njambai. — The talking Idol. — Secret Proceedings. — 
The Women and their Mysteries 150 

CHAPTER XX. 

Sick in a strange Land. — Adventure with a Snake. — How a Squirrel 
was charmed 157 

CHAPTER XXI. 
Witchcraft. — Accusation ofPende. — Result of his Trial 163 

CHAPTER XXII. 

Gorilla hunting. — Preparations. — We kill a male Gorilla. — Bringing 
him to Camp 169 

CHAPTER XXIII. 

In the Buffalo Country. — The Paradise of Flies. — The various 
Species 1T7 

CHAPTER XXIV. 

Elephant Pits. — A Captive. — Dividing the Meat. — The Alethe 
Castanea 183 

CHAPTER XXV. 

A deserted Village. — Fear of Death. — Wars between Villages.— 
African wild Boar.— The Hunt 189 



X CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
In the wild Forest.— Hostile Tribes.— An intrenched Camp.— Forays 
for Provisions Page 197 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

We discover human Foot-prints.— We spy out the Enemy.— A 
female Gorilla. — Maternal Fondness 208 

CHAPTER XXVIII. 

How we were received at Camp. — Threatened with Starvation. — A 
Night in Camp. — Malaouen's Story ., 215 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



PAOB 

Under Way in Africa Frontispiece. 

Parrot Island 21 

An African War Danck -. 27 

Encounter With a Leopard 30 

Lying Low for Elephants 35 

The Snake Charmer 41 

Appearance of the King and his Court 45 

Fierce Attack of a Gorilla 55 

Evening Amusements in Africa 6? 

Hunting Hippopotami 71 

Head of Hippopotamus 74. 

Foot-prints of the Gorilla 76 

Female Gorilla and her Young 79 

Mourning the Dead 84 

A Night Storm in Africa 89 

In the Creek of Snakes.. 95 

Drinking the Mboundou 103 

March of Bashikouay Ants 119 

The Bashikouay Ant, Magnified to twice its Natural Size 123 

The Barbatula Working 131 

African Hanging Birds'-nests 133 

Hunting Elephants I43 

Interior of the Njambai-house I54 

Charming the Squirrel 161 

The Trial of Pend^ , 165 

Death of a Male Gorilla I73 

Dancing Around the Elephant Meat 186 



Xll 



LIST OF ILLUSTMATI0N8. 



PAGE 

Killing Four Wild Boars 195 

Smoking Out the Bees 204 

Trapping the Monkey 206 

We Discover Foot-prints 209 

Arrival AT the Stockade 217 

Good-bye to the Bakalais 227 




WaiL© ILHIFIE 1353IBISIE 7E1I1 !l@13i\7®[S< 



PEELIMINARY CHAPTER 

Dear young folks! — In the book I wrote for you last 
year^ called " Stories of the Gorilla country," I said to 
you " au revoirp that means good-bye till I come again. 

I have come again to my publishers, who are also my 
good friends, and who have let me have my own way 
about the illustrations of this book ; they have told me 
that you were pleased with the last book. Not only 
have they told me so, but many of you have said the 
same thing to me. 

This was good news, for I delight to tell stories to 
young folks, and " Stories of the Gorilla Country " being 
the first book I ever wrote for you, I was delighted to 
hear of its success. 

I felt quite happy when I learned that I had been 
able to interest you in what interested me, while travel- 
ling in far-distant countries. 

I have taken my pen once more. I am going to lead 
you into the great forest of Equatorial Africa. I am 



14 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

going to try to make you travel with me in the wild 
country I have explored. I am going to bring you face 
to face with the gorilla, and lead you into the midst of 
the wild tribes of men I have discovered. I will tell you 
how they live, what queer superstitions they have, and 
what sort of people these poor savages are. 

I shall tell you about snakes, leopards, elephants, hip» 
popotami, and other wild beasts of the forest. About in- 
sects, wonderful ants, and many other curious things. 

You will follow me in that great jungle ; you will get 
lost in it ; you will build your camp with me, and you 
will hunt with me ; you will be hungry with me ; you 
will have the flies to plague you ; you will have lots of 
adventures, and perhaps when you close this book you 
will shout, " What a glorious time we have had with 
our friend Paul 1" I hope you will not only be amused, 
but that you will be also instructed. 

I have written two large volumes — " Explorations in 
Equatorial Africa" and "Journey to Ashango Land" — 
for older people than yourselves, and I do not see why I 
should not write for young folks. Now let me lead you 
into that land of wonders, where no civilized man had 
ever trodden before me. 






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CHAPTER IL 

PARROT ISLAND.— HOW THE PARROTS BUILD THEIR NESTS.—* 

PARROT SOUP. 

There is an Island by the sea, in a far country, called 
Nengue Ngozo. 

I shall always remember that Island ; for when I went 
there I was young and wild — as wild as the waves of 
that sea. I had no mother to care for me ; I had no 
sister to love me when I came to this Island. The wide 
world was before me. But I loved to roam in wild and 
distant countries; I loved to look upon and study the 
men, the beasts, the birds, the fishes, the insects, and the 
trees. I had no one with me, but God was kind to me, 
and took care of me, and he has now brought me back 
safely, so that I might tell you all I have seen. 

On Wengue Ngozo there was a little village. That 
village had a King, who instead of a crown wore a woolen 
cap, and for a sceptre he had a cane. 

Indeed, the Island of Nengue Ngozo, which means 
Parrot Island, is a little kingdom of itself It is covered 
with forest, and is situated in the estuary called the Ga- 
boon, formed in the bight of Guinea, on the west coast 
of Africa, some fifteen or sixteen miles north of the 
equator, and a few miles from the sea. Not far from it 
there is another Island called Konikey. (Both of these 



16 WILD LIFE UNDEB THE^SQUATOn, 

islands are marked in the map published in my work 
called *' Explorations in Equatorial Africa.") 

One part of Nengue Ngozo is tolerably high, the othel 
part is low and swampy. It is covered with a great for- 
est ; some of the trees are very large and tall, and the 
foliage of the palm-trees is very beautiful. 

The Island is but a few miles in circumference. 

The people of this Island are safe from wild beasts, as 
there are no leopards to carry them away or kill their 
goats, no elephants to destroy their plantations, and no 
gorillas to roam about and frighten them. The cries of 
the chimpanzee are not heard, the wild buffalo is not to 
be seen, the graceful antelopes and gazelles are unknown, 
and the chatter of monkeys does not fall upon the ear 
of the people or resound strangely in the woods. But 
all these roam at leisure on the main-land, where the 
villages of the warlike Shekiani and Bakalai people are 
scattered over the great, wild forest. 

As I looked upon the water I could see the majestic 
pelican chasing the fishes, and the gulls flying in great 
numbers through the air, their shrill cries sounding 
strangely in the midst of the grand solitude by which I 
was surrounded. 

Cranes and other birds were walking to and fro on 
the beach in search of their food. How quiet, silent and 
sly they were as they stepped from place to place look- 
ing for their prey ; and, when they saw it, how quickly 
their long beaks dipped into the water to seize it ! 

It was a very warm day when I landed on Nengue 
N'gozo. The rays of the sun were powerful, and there 
was not a ripple on the water. It was so hot that my 
men had not even strength to paddle. Our sail, made 



SffABKS. 17 

of natives' mats, flapped against the mast and was not 
of the slightest use except to fan us. Happily the tide 
carried us toward the Island. I had an umbrella over 
my head, and now and then I wetted a handkerchief 
which was in my hat to keep my head cool. I felt that 
I was as red as a boiled lobster. I remember well how 
much I suffered from the heat that day. 

Now and then we could see the fins of sharks as they 
came near our canoe, and a shudder went through us 
all, for we knew well what would become of us if by 
some misfortune we were to upset. 

A few days before a fine boy had been devoured by 
these monsters. The sight of a shark when I am in a 
canoe always makes me shudder. I fear a shark more 
than I do snakes. Which is saying a great deal ! 

How glad I was when I landed and rested myself un- 
der the shade of the forest which grew to the very water's 
edge. I quenched my thirst in a little brook which rose 
in the interior of the Island, and oh ! how much better I 
feJt afterward. I had to drink out of a large leaf which 
I folded in the form of a cornucopia. 

I saw on the sands what I knew to be the foot-prints 
of men ; we followed them and at last came to the very 
small village of which I have spoken to you. The men 
with me were Mpongwes, and belonged to the same tribe 
as the people of the Island. 

The King and his people at first stared at me, but a 
word or two from my men made every thing right. 

The luggage was landed from our canoe, the canoe 
was then hauled on to the main-land and put under the 
shade of the trees, and we were ready to rest, for we 
were all very tired and I felt rather feverish. 



18 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

The wives of the King cooked food for us, and in the 
mean time huts had been given to us by his sable Maj- 
esty. 

I hardly tasted the food that was presented to me. 
After my sham meal I fell asleep, and when I awoke the 
san had set, and all was dark and silent. I felt better, 
however, and came out of my hut ; the King was quietly 
smoking his pipe, and we had a chat together; the 
Queen came forth also ; then a few old men of the place, 
whom we may call the gray-beards, made their appearance. 

These people of course knew what the sea was, knew 
that the vessels sailed upon it to come to theiT" country ; 
but they asked me many questions about the white man's 
country. For ii stance : — 

Had we men with only one eye in the middle of the 
forehead ? 

Did our babies feed on milk ? They had heard they 
fed on spirits. 

Of what material were our houses ? Were they 
built with the bark of trees? And many other appar- 
ently foolish questions. 

When I told them that we had no people with one 
eye in the middle of their foreheads they did not believe 
me. They had never seen any white man manufactur- 
ing before them the goods we brought, therefore they 
thought another species of men must make them, from 
whom we bought them. 

At last, looking at my watch, I saw that it was ten 
o'clock: time to go to bed: so I bade good-night to the 
King and his people and went back to my hut. I barri 
caded myself; slept with my gun by my side, and fol 
my pillow laid my head on my revolvers. 



THE PARROTS COME. 19 

Toward three or four o'clock in the morning I was 
startled by a tremendous noise. At first, just waking up, 
I could not make out what it was ; when lo ! I discover- 
ed it was made by parrots, chattering away in a most 
jolly and discordant manner. I had never heard such a 
noise in my life before. The Island must have been full 
of them. I tried in vain to sleep — turned myself one 
way, then the other, but it was of no avail ; the noise 
was so terrific there was no rest for me. I don't think 
a hundred bells tolling together could have made more 
noise. At any rate as they went on I wondered if they 
could understand each other, and how they could have 
come to the Island. They had probably arrived while I 
was asleep, just before sunset. 

Before the morning twilight came I was out, and as 
soon as the dawn of day made its appearance, flock after 
flock flew from the trees and went in different directions 
toward the main-land. I followed them as far as my 
eyes could reach, but soon lost sight of them, for they 
were going far away, very far away. They were in 
flocks, and each flock went in search of places where they 
knew food was abundant. They went off by tens, by 
twenties, and by hundreds together. 

By sunrise not a parrot was to be seen on the Island, 
and I could only hear the chatter of other birds. How 
silent then every thing seemed 1 

During the day I went to the top of the hill in search 
of land shells, and after five o'clock in the afternoon 
the parrots began to arrive again. From the top of the 
hill I could see them as far as my eyes could reach : they 
were coming from immense distances. They continued 
pouring in and pouring in, and I should not wonder if 



20 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

some bad come from thirty or forty miles, or perhaps 
even more. They came and they came, and they con- 
tinued coming, even after the sun had set, and two flocks 
came when it was almost dark. These had probably 
come from far away and had miscalculated the time their 
flight would take ; or perhaps they had been detained 
by some dainty fruit on the road. At any rate they 
came very late. I calculated that at least twenty thou- 
sand parrots had arrived on the Island, although there 
may have been one hundred thousand, for I do not claim 
to have counted them all. They came to spend the 
night on the Island of Nengue Ngozo, and I now ceased 
to wonder at the strange name the natives had given to 
the Island. 

These gray parrots are said to live to be a hundred 
years old and even more. Some years ago I myself knew 
a sea-captain in New York by the name of Brown, an 
old trader on the African coast, who had a parrot which 
he had kept for thirty years. I wish you could have 
heard him talk and sing songs. Captain Brown is dead, 
and I know not where his widow has gone, but perhaps 
the parrot is still living. I could not help thinking that 
some of these old parrots had come here every day, per- 
haps, for a hundred years. 

They perched by hundreds and perhaps thousands on 
the same trees, and the trees on which they perched 
showed their heads far above those of the other trees. 
How beautifully their gray plumage and their red tails 
contrasted with the green leaves from the midst of which 
they appeared I Some of the old ones were almost white. 
When old their feathers seem to be covered with a white 
powder, and if you pass your hand over their plumage 



HOW PARROTS BUILD THEIR NESTS. 



21 



this powder comes off. I have killed wild ones perfect- 
ly splendid, much larger and handsomer than any I have 
seen tame. 

I wondered why these parrots had chosen this Island 
as their bedroom. Why did they come from such dis- 
tances every day when there were so many tall trees in 
the forest on the main-land ? I found that it was because 
they were safer than on the main-land ; there were no 
genetta (a kind of wild cat) to pounce upon them and dis- 
turb, or rather devour, them at night. 




PAEKOX ISLAND. 



Days passed, and every morning and every evening the 
parrots went away and the parrots came back, and be- 
tween three and four o'clock in the morning began their 
charming noise ; but I became quite accustomed to it and 
did not mind it at all after a while. I noticed also thai 



22 WILD LIFE UNDEM THE EQUATOK 

generally the same number that started together in tha 
morning came back together. 

These parrots must certainly be endowed with a very 
great instinct to know the way to the Island, as they come 
from great distances, and from every direction. 

Not only do they come to the Island of Nengue 
Ngozo to sleep, but in the month of February and the 
beginning of March many remain and have their nests on 
the Island. They all would have had their nests, I am 
sure, if there had been hollows of trees enough for them. 

These gray parrots do not build a regular nest, but 
choose a tree where there is a deep hollow to lay their 
eggs in. The nests are discovered by hearing their 
young calling all day long for their parents to feed them. 
I never saw more than two young ones in one nest, or 
hollow of a tree, and very funny they looked when cover- 
ed with down before their feathers had grown. 

What awful cries they utter as they see the human 
hand coming through the darkness ready to catch hold 
of them. And you had better look out for your fingers, 
for they bite terribly hard, I assure you, as I know by 
experience, and that in despite of their being very young. 
There were days when I hid myself near a tree close by 
the place where they came to sleep, but the parrots seem- 
ed to know it, and would fly round and round it, and 
then go away. It is but very seldom that I ever was 
able to approach parrots when they were perched on a 
tree standing by itself: they would fly away before I 
could come within gunshot distance. They are exceed- 
ingly shy. 

When they approach their nests they always come 
in \\\Q most silent manner, not uttering a single cry. 



PARROT SOUP. 23 

For a while after they have taken their flight the 
young ones will follow their parents; after a while the 
birds of the same age flock together. A young gray par- 
rot has entirely black eyes. Before he is a year old a 
change takes place : a ring shows itself round the black, 
which gradually turns yellow, then whitish-yellow. In 
the breeding season the natives capture a great many 
young ones in their nests before they can fly away. 

After a few days the fowls of the little kingdom of 
Nengue Ngozo became scarce, and at last the King had 
no more to give me ; so I said to myself, Why should 
not I kill some parrots and cook them? 

One morning I awoke before daylight. Two even- 
itigs before I had watched a tree not far away where the 
parrots were roosting in great numbers, and had made a 
path leading to it. When I went by that path it was pitch 
dark ; I could not help thinking of snakes, but at last I 
came to the foot of the tree. It was just before day- 
break ; the birds did not see me, but they seemed to 
mistrust something, for, though I had come very noise- 
lessly, their chatter was of that kind which showed dis- 
tinctly that they were disturbed. 

At last I raised my gun in the direction of what I 
thoughtthe midst of the tree ; then I touched both trig- 
gers, and, bang ! hang ! I let go both barrels at the same 
time. The gun gave an aw^ful recoil which almost 
knocked me down, arid I heard a showier of parrots fall- 
ing all round me; one fell right on the top of my head 
and nearly frightened the life out of me, for I fancied a 
3nake had just tumbled on top of me, or that a bough of 
the tree was coming down. 

What a terrific noise followed my two shots I I haJ 



2i' WILD LIFE TINBER THE EQUATOR. 

never heard any thing like it. They fled in dismay, 
screaming with all their might ; but where were they to 
go ? it was dark, and the whole population of parrots 
was in terrible trouble. The next evening not a parrot 
came upon that tree, and they were all very suspicious 
'as they came to the Island, flying round and round the 
trees before they roosted. 

When daylight came, I found twenty dead parrots on 
the ground, and had a grand feast. I had parrot soup, 
which was not at all bad ; roasted parrot ; and grilled 
parrot. The old parrots were very tough, but the young 
ones were excellent; their flesh was black and resembled 
in taste that of the pigeon. 

Now I have told you all I know about Kengue Kgozo. 
Nengue, as I have said before, means an Island, and 
Kgozo, parrot. Should any one of you ever go to the 
Gaboon country he will find the Island, and he will see 
the parrots— unless the natives have cut down all tb^ 
trees. 

In that part of Africa there are only two kinds of par- 
rots : the gray sort — which is very abundant, and much 
handsomer than the gray one found near Sierra Leone^ 
the gray being of a lighter color — and the green one, 
which is very rare. 

But I have one now in my possession, the only one 
I have ever seen which is extraordinary. It is pink and 
gray; that is, it has pink and gray feathers, and is a 
very beautiful bird, the rarest that was ever brought to 
America or Europe, and probably the only one of its 
kind that ever existed, for it is not a distinct species, but 
a freak of Nature. 



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CHAPTER III. 

AN AFEICAN CREEK. — A LEOPAED AMONG THE CHICKENS. — 
A NIGHT WATCH FOR LEOPARDS. 

Now I had just left the Island of Nengue Ngozo, 
and if your eyes could have reached that part of the 
world, you might have seen me still in the same little 
canoe, made of the trunk of a single tree, armed to the 
teeth, making for the Ikoi Creek, which was not far dis- 
tant. (This creek is also marked on my large map pub- 
lished in my work called "Explorations in Equato- 
rial Africa.") 

The canoe was going swiftly through the water, the 
wind was good, and soon after our departure we entered 
the creek. I felt anxious, for the Bakalai and Shekiani 
villages were at war with each other — a wild and treach- 
erous set they are — and either tribe might have taken my 
canoe for that of their enemy, and so pounced upon us in 
great numbers and killed us all before we could let them 
know that we were strangers belonging to the Mpongwe 
tribe, their friends. I was watching continually to see 
if there were not some canoes in ambush. After a while 
the creek became narrower, the breeze ceased, the sail 
had to be furled along the mast, the men took to the 
paddles, and our canoe glided onward upon the waters 
of the Ikoi. 



26 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

The sight was dismal enough : both banks were 
flanked with swampy forests of mangrove ; the tide was 
low, and a prodigious number of oysters were seen on 
the roots of the mangrove-trees. As we came near 
them I took an axe and cut some of the roots, which were 
literally covered with 03^sters. We lit a fire at the bot- 
tom of the canoe and roasted these oysters, and they 
were excellent. I assure you it was quite a treat. 

Feeling better after our meal, we paddled on again. 
The mangrove-trees became more scarce, and at last we 
came in sight of a village of Sheki.anis, 

As soon as they saw us they met in great numbers on 
the top of the hill where the village stood, and I could 
hear their wild shouts of war. As we approached near- 
er their excitement increased ; the war-drums beat, and 
I could see them brandishing their spears. My men 
sang songs in the Mpongwe language to show that we 
were not their enemies. 

In the mean time I did not feel comfortable at all, and 
really thought that we might have a fight. I knew 
these Shekiani people to be funny fellows : if we had 
gone back, a dozen canoes armed with men would have 
been after us, for they would have immediately thought 
we were their enemies. So we pushed on, and at last 
came opposite the village. Here we had to stop to speak 
to them, and finally they entreated us to pass the night 
among them, the chief himself coming to beg us to 
stay. 

As it was nearly night I concluded that it would be 
better to sleep in a village than in the woods, for there 
we might have been attacked unawares, the people not 
knowing who we were. 



SIIEKIAXI VILLAGE. 29 

These Shekianis crowded round to see me, and at everj; 
move I made they all sent up wild shouts of astonish- 
ment. 

They were all armed to the teeth, and had the air of 
men continually on the lookout for a fight. 

Night soon came, and I went into the hut that had 
been given to me, but could not sleep, for all the villagers 
were awake, and the drums were beating from one end 
of the village to the other. Songs of war were sung by 
the men, women, and children around their Mbuiti (an 
enormous wooden idol, which was in the midst of the vil- 
lage). Besides, I thought the village might be surprised 
during the night by the warlike and treacherous Baka- 
lais. So I need not tell you that all my guns were load- 
ed and all the guns of my men likewise. 

I did not like this kind of travelling at all. 

These men were all painted with colored chalk, red 
and yellow being the favorite colors ; they were covered 
with fetiches, which they believed would protect them 
from the deadly weapons of their enemies ; and by the 
dim light of their fires and torches they appeared to me 
more like devils than men. The village was also strong- 
ly fenced with long poles. 

At last the morning twilight made its appearance, and 
after giving a present to the King, we got ready and by 
sunrise were on our way. 

We soon came to a Bakalai village, and there I made 
my head-quarters. The country abounded in birds : 
wild boars were also said to be abundant, and leopards 
were rather common. This was just the country in 
which I expected to discover new species of birds and to 
enjoy some grand hunting. 



30 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOlt, 

The house I lived in was at the extreme end of the 
village, and the villagers were very kind to me. 

One night I heard a great cackling of my fowls, who 
perched on a tree near my hut, and soon after I heard 
them flying away in every direction. I jumped from 
my couch and opened my door, thinking some one was' 




EI^COU:sT£E WITU A LEOI'ABD. 



trying to steal some of them. The moon was in its last 
quarter, so it was not dark as I stepped into the yard, 
when lo ! I was struck with terror to find mj^self face to 
face with a tremendous leopard ! How big he looked ! 
I was so astonished that for the space of thirty seconds — 
which seemed to me to be minutes — or perhaps more, I 
did not stir a step. I looked at the leopard, which cer 



A NIQHT WATCH FOM LEOPARDS. 31 

tainly was not more than six yards from me, and the 
leopard, which probably was quite as much astonished 
at my sudden apparition, looked at me. I must have 
appeared to him like a ghost. I seemed to be spell- 
bound. So did the leopard. 

Suddenly I came to my senses, and having no weapon 
with me I made a rush for the door, shut myself inside, 
seized my rifle, then opened the door in the quietest pos- 
sible way. Now I felt strong with my gun in hand and 
so looked out for Mr. Leopard ; but the great beast had 
gone. I fancy he was as much frightened as I was. 

Such a sudden meeting in the night had never hap- 
pened to me before, and has never happened to me since ; 
and I hope never will happen to me again. In the 
morning, when I awoke, the enormous foot-prints of the 
beast reminded me that it was not a dream. 

The next day I bought a goat and tied it by the neck 
to a tree, just on the border of the forest clearing. Not 
far from the tree where the goat was tied there was anoth- 
er tree, a huge one, so I concluded to lay in wait therefor 
the leopard, and at night, every preparation having been 
made before dark, I brought back the goat to the village. 

About ten o'clock, with a torch in one hand and lead- 
ing the goat with the other, I tied the animal in the most 
secure manner, and so that the leopard would have trouble 
to carry it off at once. I went and seated myself on the 
ground, my back protected by the trunk of the huge tree 
I have just spoken to you of, and facing the goat. I am 
sure I was not more than six yards from it. I extinguish- 
ed the torch so that it was pitch dark. At first I could 
not see a yard off, but at last my eyes got accustomed 
to the darkness, and I could see the goat plainly. The 



32 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

night was clear and the stars shone most beautifully 
above my head. But how strange every thing looked 
around me ! A chill ran through me as I gazed around : 
every thing seemed so mournful ; alone in such a place; 
while now and then the cry of the solitary owl broke the 
deadness of the awful silence. 

The goat in the mean time was continually bleating, 

I for the little creature had an instinctive dread of being 

alone in such a place. I was glad he cried, for I knew it 

would make the leopard come if the animal could only 

hear him. 

One hour passed away : no leopard I Two hours : no 
leopard ! Three hours : nothing I I began to feel tired, 
for I was seated on the bare ground. Once or twice I 
thought I heard snakes crawling, but it was no doubt ^ 
fancy. 

I do not know, but I think I must have fallen 
asleep, for on a sudden, looking for the goat, I saw that 
it was not there. I rubbed my eyes, for I really was not 
sure of them, but I was not mistaken ; no goat was to be 
seen ! I got up, and my wonder was great when at the 
place where the goat had been I found blood. I could 
not believe my senses. I lighted the torch and looked 
at my watch : it was four o'clock in the morning : and 
then I saw distinctly the foot-prints of the leopard. 
There was no mistake about it ; the leopard had come, 
killed and carried away the goat, and during that time 
I was fast asleep I 

Just think of it ! I must have slept almost two 
hours, and I thanked my stars that the leopard had taken 
the goat instead of myself! It would have been a 
dreadful feeling if I had been awakened as I was car- 



A WOMAN KILLED. 33 

ried away in the jaws of the leopard, his teeth deep into 
my body, as the thing might well have happened. I won- 
dered why it had not, and promised myself to be more 
careful in future. Then I remembered how tired I felt 
before I went to sleep. 

If the goat had not been carried away I should 
certainly have thought that I never had fallen asleep. 

As I learned more about leopards I found they do 
not generally leave their lairs before one o'clock, unless 
pressed by hunger. 

Sorrow soon afterward came in that village — a woman 
was killed on the roadside by some unknown enemy : 
the villagers retaliated and went and laid in ambush and 
killed some one belonging to another village ; the whole 
country had been involved in war for some time, and as 
it was unsafe to walk anywhere, I concluded to leave 
the poor deluded people who had been very kind to me. 
So, after packing my collections of specimens of Natural 
History, I bade them a friendly farewell. 
3 




CHAPTEE IV. 

HUNTIXG ELEPHANTS AND BUFFALOES. — A VENOMOUS SER- 
PENT. A SNAKE CHAKMEK. HE IS BITTEN. HE COMMITS 

SUICIDE. 

It was midnigbt ; the moon Lad risen, and 1 could 
look at the expanse of the prairies situated near Point 
Obenda, on the Gaboon estuary. The moon threw just 
light enough to show me the great solitude, in the midst 
of which there was not a living soul with me. As my 
eyes gazed upon the broad expanse, I tried to see if I 
could perceive any wild beast. At last I spied far off 
what I thought to be a huge elephant ; it stood still : 
the great beast neither walked nor fed. 

I immediately put my old Panama hat flat on my head 
and walked in a stooping posture toward the huge mon- 
ster, who was far off. I approached nearer and nearer, 
when lo! the big beast began to move toward me. A 
feeling of awe crept over me ; there was not a hill near 
to hide myself; there was not a tree for me to climb 
upon ; I thought how small I looked by the side of this, 
the largest of the animals of the forest! 

Did the elephant see me ? 

Did he come to meet me and attack me? 

Such were the questions that came at once to my 
mind. My courage began to quail. I was, as I said, 
quite alone; I had left all my men in the camp: these 



AN VOL Y VISITOR. 



35 



men were the slaves of some of my Mpongwes' friends, 
and they were, I knew, fast asleep ; in ciise of accident 
I had no one to come to tlie rescue. At that time I was 
a young lad, and had no confidence in myself, and to 
fight an elephant which looked so big, seemed to me per- 
fectly impossible. But very soon I got accustomed to 
face danger, and loved to hunt elephants. I was no more 




LYI>ia LOW FUB EIiEFUASTa 



afraid of them. Well, the elephant kept still coming 
toward me as I lay flat on the ground. At last he stop- 
ped, and then I saw him raise his trunk; my heart be- 
^an to beat terribly, for I thought he was coming down 
fco charge upon me. Then he sniffed two or three times 
and suddenly ran away. I had shouldered my gun, re- 



S6 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

solved at any rate to try to kill him instead of being 
trampled down by his huge feet. 

The sound of every one of his steps could be heard 
distinctly, as he ran away from me, and he was soon out 
of sight. He had gone into the forest, and nature fell 
back into its accustomed stillness. Now and then the 
voice of a frog resounded strangely from the prairie. 

Suddenly a cloud came over the moon, and it grew 
almost dark ; the wind blew strongly, for it was in the 
dry season and was quite chilly. After wandering a 
while I came at last to a large ant-hill and sheltered 
myself there, thinking at the same time that it would be 
a splendid place to hide and look for game. 

How strange my shadow appeared by the side of that 
ant-hill, when the moon shone again ! 

I did not wait long for game. I had not lain long by 
the ant-hill before I saw coming out of the forest not far 
off a herd of Bos hrachicheros^ the wild bull of this part 
of Africa. How fantastic their bodies appeared, as one 
by one they came out of the forest : they were coming 
toward where I stood, and the wind blew toward me. 
I counted, I think, twenty of these wild buffaloes. 
They stopped for a while as if to determine what direc- 
tion to take, and perhaps also to see if they might discov- 
er or smell the leopard, which is their most dangerous 
enemy, and then continued their march toward the ant- 
hill W'here I was. I became very excited, cocked my 
gun, and aimed at +he bull which was heading the herd, 
then pulled the trigi^er; bang! and down he came. A 
general stampede followed, but just in the direction of 
the ant-hill. What did these fellows mean ? Did they 
all want to charge me ? No, they passed to the right and 



RETURy TO THE CAMF, 37 

left of the ant-hill. After they had passed I turned 
round and fired another shot into the midst of them, but 
this time with less effect, for none fell, and this second 
shot made them run away with greater speed than be- 
fore. At any rate I was glad, for I had knocked down 
the bull, the head of the herd. 

I wished I had a horse and a lasso ; how quickly I 
should have come to them, and killed enough of them to 
give meat to all my men for several days to come. 

I went back and saw the bull lying on the ground, 
not dead, but moaning terribly from pain. As I ap- 
proached he tried to get up, but in vain; so another 
bullet in the head finished him. 

My men, who had been awakened by the shot, looked 
round for me, and finding that I had gone, made for the 
direction of the firing, and there was great rejoicing as 
they approached and saw the huge bull lying on the 
ground, for plenty was to enter the camp with his car- 
case. 

The beast was at once cut to pieces ; each man took a 
load, and we made for the camp ; for it was too cold to 
linger. Besides, I was getting tired. We were afraid 
to leave the animal alone during the night for fear of 
leopards. 

It was four o'clock in the morning when I reached 
the camp. 

Our camp was protected by the forest and was situ- 
ated on the edge of it I immediately started a tremen- 
dous fire, and felt so tired that I fell asleep directly on 
the bare ground, telling my men to keep watch. The 
good fellows were in good spirits, and already began to 
roast pieces of meat on the bright charcoal fire, and were 



38 WIlB life under THE EQUATOB. 

eating in such big mouth fuls that it would have made 
you laugh to see them. 

As for me, as I said, I went to sleep, and my men the 
next morning said that I made a terrible noise snoring. 
I denied it and said I never snored, but they said I did. 
But after all, you know, I had no pillow, and I should 
not wonder if I did snore a little. 

Next morning the sun rose brightly, the air was some- 
what chilly, the breeze was fresh. I was happy, I re- 
member. These were bright days for me: I was with- 
out care, and for some time the fever had left me. I 
was in good health and spirits. 

After an early breakfast I started for the hunt. I 
had with me my best gun ; the slave that followed me 
had another gun; this one was loaded with bullets; I 
bad my dinner with me, and that dinner was a piece of 
the bull I had killed the day before which had been 
roasted on charcoal. I intended to dine on the banks 
of some little rivulet so that I might have water to drink 
during my meal. I would have no plate except a leaf; 
the trunk of a fallen tree was to be my seat, and my 
knees were to be my table. 

With a light step I left our camp. My spirits were 
buoyant; discoveries of new animals, of new birds, of 
new countries loomed up in the distance. How much 
I would have to tell my friends on my return from 
that strange and wild land I had come to see, if God 
granted me life and health ! 

We went through prairies, swamps, and forest. At 
last we came to a spot where once a plantation stood ; it 
was intersected by several little brooks of clear water. 
My man shouted, " Omemha ompoloP^ (a large snake), and 



A RUN FMOM A DANGEROUS SNAKE. Z'd 

I saw at the same moment an enormous black shining 
snake (a species of naja), one of the most dangerous 
species. I knew he was coming in our direction and be- 
longed to that species that when bullied raises itself 
erect and wants to fight. He was a terribly big fellow, 
one of the largest I had ever seen ; he looked loathsome 
and horrid; I could see distinctly his triangular head. 
I fired in haste, hoping to break his spine, but missed 
the reptile, and immediately he erected himself to a few 
feet in height and whistled in the most horrid man- 
ner, his tongue coming out sharp and pointed like an 
arrow. I fired again right into his head, and I do not 
know why, but I missed him again. Then the fellow 
gave a spring ; I really do not know if he came toward 
me, for I fled panic-stricken, and when at a safe dis- 
tance reloaded my gun with small shot, and returned 
to the spot where I had shot at him. I spied something 
just getting out of a little rivulet. It was the very 
snake itself which had crossed the water, and before he 
was entirely out I fired and killed him, or rather I suc- 
ceeded in breaking his spine and making him helpless 
for attack or for running awa}^ But he was not dead, 
and when I approached him he again gave a sharp whis- 
tle. I cut a branch of a tree for a stick to kill him with, 
and then examined his fangs: they were of enormous 
size, and almost an inch in length. 

This snake was about ten feet long. We left it on 
the spot, taking its head and tail with us, which we 
carefully packed in leaves, for we wanted to show to our 
fellows of the camp what a big snake we had killed. 

This species of naja is the only one I have ever seen 
which could erect itself. 



40 WILD LIFE VNDEB THE EQXIATOIi. 

One day I witnessed a fearful scene. A man, a native 
of Goree, an island on the coast of Senegambia, who had 
the reputation of being a snake-charmer and was then 
at the Gaboon, had succeeded in capturing one of these 
large naja. He was a bold man, and prided himself on 
never being afraid of any snake, however venomous the 
reptile might be ; nay, not only was he not afraid of any 
of them, but he would fight with any of them and get 
hold of them. 

I had often seen him with snakes in his hands. He 
was careful, of course, to hold them just by the neck be- 
low the head, in such a manner that the head could not 
turn on itself and bite him. 

That day he brought into a large open place, perfect- 
ly bare of grass, one of these wild naja that he had just 
captured, and was amusing himself by teasing the horrid 
and loathsome creature when I arrived. It was a huge 
one! 

Most of the people of the village had fled, and those 
natives who like myself were looking on, kept a long 
way off. Not a Mpongwe man, not a single inhabitant of 
the whole region I have explored, would have ever 
dared to do what the Goree man did. 

Two or three times, as the snake crawled on the 
ground, we made off in the opposite direction with the 
utmost speed, myself, I am afraid, leading off in the 
general stampede ; though I had provided myself with a 
gun. 

It was perfectly fearful, perfectly horrid and appalling 
to see that man making a plaything of this monster; 
laughing, as we may say, at death, for it could be noth- 
ing else, I thought. 



CHARMING A NAJA, 



41 



At first when I saw him he had the snake around his 
body, but he held it firmly just below the neck, and I 
could see by the muscles of his arm that he had to use 
great strength. As long as this part of the body is held 
firmly the snake loses much of its great power of crush- 
ing one to death as the boa-constrictor or python does 




TUB bNAKE CUABMEB. 



with larger animals, and as small snakes do with smaller 
game ; but with this naja the danger would have been 
the venomous bite. 

Then with his other hand he took the tail of the snake, 
and gave it a swing and gradually unfolded the reptile 
from his black body, which was warm and shining with 



42 WILD LIFE XJKDER THE EQUATOR 

excitement, but always holding the head. On a sudden 
he threw the snake on the ground. Then the creature 
began to crawl away, when suddenly the Goree man came 
in front of it with a light stick and instantly the monster 
erected itself almost to half its full length, gave a tre- 
mendous whistle, which we all heard, looked glaringly 
and fiercely in the man's face with its sharp, pointed 
tonsfue out, and then stood still as if it could not move. 
The Goree man, with his little stick in his left hand, 
touched it lightly as though to tease it. It was a fearful 
sight — and if he had been near enough the snake would 
no doubt have sprung upon its antagonist. The man, as 
he teased and infuriated the snake with the rod he held 
in his left hand, drew the attention of the reptile toward 
ihe stick ; then suddenly and in the wink of an eye, al- 
most as quick as lightning, with his right hand he got 
hold of the creature just under his head. 

The same thing that I have just described again took 
place. The snake folded itself round his body ; then he 
unfolded the snake, which was once more let loose, and 
now this horrid serpent got so infuriated that as soon as 
he was thrown on the ground he erected himself, and the 
glare of his eyes was something terrific. It was indeed 
an appalling scene ; the air around seemed to be filled 
wnth the whistling sound of the creature. 

Alas! a more terrible scene soon took place! The 
man became bolder and bolder, more and more care- 
less, and the snake probably more and more accustomed 
to the mode of warfare of his antagonist, and just as the 
monster stood erect, the man attempted to seize its neck 
as he had done many and many a time before, but grasp- 
ed the body too low, and before he had time to let it go 



THE SNAKE CHARMER DIES. 



43 



the head turned on itself and the man was bitten! I was 
perfectly speechless, the scene had frozen my blood, and 
the wild shrieks of all those round rent the air. The ser- 
pent was loose and crawling on the ground, but before it 
had time to go far a long pole came down upon its back 
and broke its spine, and in less time than I take to write 
it down the monster was killed. 

To the French doctor who had charge of the little col- 
ony the man went (happily he was just at hand) ; all the 
remedies were prompt and powerful ; the man suffered in- 
tensely, his body became swollen, his mind wandered, 
and his life was despaired of; .but at last he got better, 
and though complaining of great pain near the heart, he 
was soon able to go out again. A short time after this 
accident, having an axe in his hand, going as he said to 
cut wood, he suddenly split his own head in two. He 
bad become insane I 




CHAPTER V. 

AT COURT IN AFEICA. — COSTUMES OF THE COURT. — AN AP" 
RICAN HOUSEHOLD. A FALSE ALARM. 

In the midst of the great forest, far from the sea, 
stands a village of Mbondemo. 

Before I entered it the gate had to be opened in order 
to let me in. The village was composed only of a single 
street, each end was barricaded with stout sticks or pali- 
sades, and, as there was war, the doors or gates of the vil- 
lage were finally closed, and persons approaching, if they 
could not explain their intentions, were remorselessly 
speared and killed. 

On the ends of the sticks making the palisades were 
skulls of wild boars, of gorillas and of chimpanzees. 
At the gate I entered there was a large wooden idol, and 
close by the idol was a very large elephant's skull. 

If I had come alone I should probably never have en- 
tered the village, but I had with me one of the King's 
numerous sons-in-law belonging to a far town, and he 
had sent word that I was coming with him and some of 
his people. 

I had hardly entered when all sorts of wild shouts 
were heard from one end of the village to the other; the 
women ran away ; the children hid in their huts ; and 



A MOYAL RECEPTION. 



45 



the men kept at a distance, so the way to the palaver- 
house was free. 

These men were all armed to the teeth and were 
ready for fight. They were continually in hot water with 
their neighbors, and never knew when they were to be 
attacked. They are a quarrelsome people. 

The palaver-house was a large shed built in the mid- 
dle of the street, and there we seated ourselves. A few 




APPEARANCE OF THE KINO AND HIS CODBT, 

men braver than the rest came to look at what they 
thought the strange being, "the Spirit," that had come 
among them. 

His Majesty headed the party, followed by his head- 
man. He wore an old red English coat and no other 
garments. He was a short, thick-built negro, and wore an 
immense pair of iron ear-rings. He was followed by what 
I supposed to be the second head-man, or prime minister 



46 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATQJg. 

This one had for his costume an old shirt which had uiily 
one sleeve and no sign of a button to be seen anywhere, 
a shirt that formerly must have been white but had nev- 
er been washed since he got it, which was several years 
before. This prime minister had nothing else on. The 
third man, who of course formed part of his Majesty's 
suite, had on an old beaver hat and nothing else. An- 
other that followed him had one of those old-fashioned 
black neck-ties (as tight as the neck itself, and attached 
with a buckle) which were worn some thirty years ago, 
and nothing else. How the deuce did that fellow get 
that cravat ? I asked mj^self I learned afterward that 
he had inherited it. Then came a fellow who by hook 
or by crook had possession of an old pair of shoes ; how 
he had got them I was unable to find out. His father 
had perhaps left them to him. How stead}^ how grave 
they looked, as they passed one after another before me. 
These were the leading men of thisMbisho village. They 
thought themselves splendid, and their people thought 
the same. They came out in state. 

I had seen before so much of the same kind of African 
court costumes that I tried to look sober, as they made 
their appearance in the midst of the shouts of their peo- 
ple, who praised their good looks. 

They looked at me and I looked at them, and at last 
with one voice they asked me to notice how handsome 
they were, each at the same time in one way or another 
making the most of what he wore. I said they were 
very fine. 

The houses of that village had no windows or doors, 
except on the side toward the street ; and when the gates 
of the streets at each end were locked the village was in- 



THE XE W MO OX IX AFRICA. 4 7 

deed a fortress. As an additional protection trees had 
been cut down, and all the surrounding approaches lind 
been thus blocked up. This village was situated on the 
top of a high hill. 

Interiorly the houses were divided by a bark parti- 
ti )n into two rooms ; one the kitchen, where every body 
sits or lies down on the ground about the fire, smokes 
his pipe, and goes to sleep, while listening to the oth- 
ers. There also in the evening the harp is played. 

The other is the sleeping apartment. This one is per- 
fectly dark, and here are stored all their provisions, all 
their riches. To ascertain how large a family any house- 
holder has, 3-0U have only to count the little doors which 
open into the various sleeping apartments: "So many 
doors, so many wives.'' These houses, like all the houses 
I had seen in the interior, were made of the bark of trees. 

There is nothing more disgusting than the toilet of 
one of these Mbondemo fellows, except it be the toilet of 
his wife. The wom.en seem to lay on the oil and red 
earth thicker than their husbands. 

The third nisfht after I arrived in that strange villao^e 
there was a new moon. As soon as the shades of even- 
ing came no one talked except in an under-tone. The 
people hardly came out of their huts ; all was silent. In 
the evening the King came out of his house and danced 
along the street ; his face and body were painted white, 
black, and red, and spotted all over with spots the size 
of a peach. In the dim moonlight he had a frightful ap- 
pearance, which made me shudder at first, for I could 
not help thinkmg of the devil. I asked him why he 
painted thus, but he only answered by pointing to the 
moon without speaking a word. 



48 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

The day of the new moon when the evening comes a 
strange kind of dread seems to seize these people. In 
all the tribes that day they mark their bodies with ochre, 
but I have never been able to find out the reason. To 
them the moon is the emblem of time. Hence, as the 
moon appears, many think that before it has disappear- 
ed again it will eat people ; that is to say, that some one 
may die. 

The fifth day I had been in that village, in the mid- 
dle of the night, I was awakened by the war-drum beat- 
ing, shouts of war, and a terrific uproar. Men and women 
were running to and fro, and all said the enemy was 
near. One man had been seen outside the palisade and 
when challenged had run away. "Let them come!" 
they shouted, "let them come! We have the Spirit 
among us!" (meaning me). " Dare to come, and we will 
kill you all !" 

It was not a very pleasant situation to be in. I did 
not come to make war with one party or the other. 
The large Mbuiti was instantly brought out, and the peo- 
ple danced round it in the most strange and fantastic 
way ; one by one the great Mbisho warriors came by her, 
and sung songs to her — the idol was a woman. One 
warrior danced tremendously before her ; he kicked his 
legs up and down one after the other, then put himself 
in the most supplicating posture, his two hands forward, 
and simply asked that he might kill every man that 
came to attack him. At last he got so excited that I 
thought he would go mad. His eyes became wild, the 
foam came out of his mouth, the muscles on his face 
workedconvulsively, he seized his spear with tremendous 
force, and his face looked like that of a demon. While he 



A FALSE ALARM. 49 

was in that state the other people caught the excitement, 
the drum beat more loudly, they sung more ferociously 
than before, the whole town became warlike in the ex- 
treme. Of course there was no more sleep for me. 

The morning at last came, but no warriors had appear- 
ed to attack the village. I am sure a panic had seized 
my friends, and that which they took for a man was 
nothing but some wild animal passing by the village 
walls. 

The rainy season had fairly set in in these regions at 
the time of my arrival, and thunder, lightning, and heavy 
showers were common both day and night, 

4 




CHAPTER YI. 

HUNT FOR GORILLAS. A LARGE ONE SHOT. THE NEGROES 

MAKE CHARMS OF HIS BRAIN. MOURNING IN A BAKA- 

LAI TOWN. 

I AM in the densest part of the jungle ! 

What am I doing in that jungle, armed to the teeth, 
and loaded with provisions ? 

Tf you could have looked closely you would have 
seen three black men with me. They also were armed 
to the teeth and were loaded with provisions.. Their 
bodies were painted and they were covered with war- 
fetiches ; and if they thought their fetiches had any power 
it was time to wear them, for if we were not going to make 
war with man, we were to hunt and try to meet the ter- 
rible and ferocious gorilla. 

Yes, we were in fighting trim, and we intended to re- 
main in the forest as long as our provisions would hold 
out. 

I had my best gun with me, which had been loaded 
in the most careful manner that very morning. My three 
men, Miengai, Makinda, and Yeava, had also loaded their 
guns, which were flint-locks. They had loaded them 
tremendously, and instead of lead bullets had rammed 
down four or five pieces of iron bar or rough broken cast- 
iron pieces, making the whole charge eight or ten fingers 
deep. 



AFTER G GRILL IS. 61 

The country was very rough, hilly, and densely crowd- 
ed with trees, and under the trees the jungle was almost 
impassable, consequently our hunting could hardly be 
counted sport, for we had to work fearfully hard and 
with the greatest care; but I felt strong, for I had rested 
for two or three days and the fever had let me alone. 

We saw several gorilla tracks, and about noon divided 
our party in the hope of surrounding the resting-place 
of one whose tracks were very plain. I had scarcely 
got away from my party when I heard a report of a gun, 
then of three more going off one after the other. Of course 
I ran back as fast as I could, hoping to see a dead ani- 
mal before me, but was disappointed : my Mbondemo 
fellows had fired at a female, and had wounded her, as 
r saw by the clots of blood which marked her tracks, but 
she had made good her escape. We set out in pursuit ; 
but these woods were too thick, she knew their depths 
better than we did, and could go through them much 
faster. 

I was greatly disappointed. This was the second 
time I had seen gorillas and they had run away. 

I had heard of the fierce courage of the gorilla and 
his attacking man. I began to believe that all that 
had been told me was untrue; and said so to Miengai, 
who for sole answer said — " We have not yet seen a man 
gorilla. The mother gorilla does not fight." 

Night came upon us as we were still beating the bush, 
and it was determined a little before sunset to camp h\ 
the side of a beautiful stream of clear water and to try 
our luck the next day. We had shot some monkeys 
and two beautiful guinea-fowls. After our fire had been 
lit the men roasted their monkey-meat over the coals; I 



52 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

roasted my birds before the blaze on a stick. I was 
very hungry and enjoyed them. 

Then I fixed my two fires in such a way that they 
would last for a long time. I laid between them, and 
instead of a roof of leaves I made one with the bark of 
trees, and soon fell asleep ; but the roars of the leopards 
and the dismal cries of the owls awoke me several 
times. 

We started early the next day, not discouraged, and 
pushed for the most dense and impenetrable part of the 
forest, for there, in those deep recesses, we hoped we might 
find a gorilla. Hour after hour we travelled, and yet no 
signs of gorillas — we had hardly met a track. We could 
only hear at long intervals the little chattering of monk* 
eys, and occasionally of birds. The solitude was grand, 
the silence profound, so much so that we could hear our 
panting breath as we ascended hill after hill. I was be- 
ginning to despair. 

Suddenly Miengai uttered a little cluck with his 
tongue, which is the native's way of showing that some- 
thing is stirring, and that a sharp lookout is necessarj^ ; 
in a word, to keep ourselves on our guard, or that danger 
was surrounding us. Presently I noticed, ahead of us 
seemingly, a noise as of some one breaking down 
branches or twigs of trees. 

We stopped and came close together. I knew at 
once by the eager and excited looks of the men that it 
was a gorilla. They looked once more carefully at their 
guns, to see if by any chance*the powder had fallen out 
of the pans; I also examined mine,. to make sure that 
all was right, and then we marched on cautiously. 

The singular noise of the breaking of the branches 



AN ENORMO US G OHILLA. 53 

continued. We walked with the greatest care, making 
no noise at all. The countenances of the men showed 
that they thought themselves engaged in a very serious 
undertaking; but we pushed on, until I thought I 
could see through the woods the moving of the branches 
and small trees which the great beast was tearing down, 
probably to get from them the berries and fruits he 
lives on. 

I remember how close we were to each other. 

Suddenly, as we were still creeping along, in a silence 
which made a heavy breath seem loud and distinct, the 
woods were at once filled with -the tremendous barking 
roar of the gorilla. 

Then the underbrush swayed rapidly ahead, and pres- 
ently there stood before us an immense male gorilla. He 
had come through the jungle on all-fours, to see who 
dared to disturb him; but when he saw our party he 
stood up and looked us boldly in the face. He stood 
about a dozen yards from us, and it was a sight I shall 
never forget He looked so big! Nearly six feet high, 
w^ith immense body, huge chest, and great muscular 
arms, with fiercely -glaring, large, deep, gray eyes, and a 
hellish expression of face, which seemed to me like some 
nightmare vision. Thus stood before me the king of 
the African forest. 

How black his fiice was! 

He was not afraid of us. He stood there, and 
beat his breast with his huge fists till it resounded like 
an immense bass-drum, which is their mode of offering 
defiance; meantime giving vent to roar after roar. 

This roar was the most singular and awful noise I 
had ever heard in these African forests. It began with 



54 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

a sharp harh^ like that of an angry dog; then glided 
into a deep bass roll which literally and closely resem- 
bled the roll of distant thunder along the sky. I have 
heard the lion roar, but greater, deeper, and more fearful 
is the roar of the gorilla. So deep is it that it seems to 
proceed less from the mouth and throat than from the 
deep chest and vast paunch of the beast. 

The earth was literally shaking under my feet as he 
roared, and for a while I knew not where I was. Was 
it an apparition from the infernal regions? Was I asleep 
or not? I was soon reminded that it was not a dream. 

I said quietly to myself — " Du Chaillu, if you do not 
kill this gorilla, as sure as you are born he will kill 
you." 

His eyes began to flash fierce fire as we stood motion- 
less on the defensive, and the crest of short hair which 
stands on his forehead began to twitch rapidly up and 
down and was perfectly frightful to look at. His pow^- 
erful fangs, or enormous canines, were shown as he again 
sent forth a thunderous roar: the red inside of his mouth 
contrasted singularly with his intensely black face. 

And now truly he reminded me of nothing but 
some hellish dream-creature — a being of that hideous 
order, half man, half beast, which we find pictured by old 
artists in some representations of the infernal regions; 
but nothing they ever painted could approach this horrid 
monster in ugliness. 

He advanced a fevv steps in a waddling way, for his 
short legs seemed incapable of supporting his huge body ; 
then stopped to utter that hideous roar again — advanced 
again, and finally stopped when at a distance of five or 
six yards from us. And then — as he extended his arras 



THE O ORILLA IS SHO T. 67 

as thougli ready to clutch us, and just as he began 
another of his frightful roars, beating his breast with rage 
— what a huge hand he had ! — I fired, and killed him. 

With a groan that had something terribly human in 
it, and yet was full of brutishness, he fell forward on his 
face like a man when he is struck by a bullet in the 
chest. He shook convulsively for a few minutes, his 
limbs moved about in a struggling way, the tremor of 
the muscles ceased, and then all was quiet — death had 
done its work. 

The monster was hardly dead when I suddenly began 
to tremble all over, my lower jaw met my upper one in a 
way I did not like at all, and my men looked at me with 
their mouths wide open in perfect amazement. They- 
could hardly believe their eyes, but having recovered 
themselves, they asked me what was the matter. I an- 
swered that I did not know, and that I had asked myself 
the same question. 

For fifteen minutes my jaws went on cracking against 
each other, and the more I tried to stop them the more 
they chattered. I felt awfully mortified ; but there was 
no help for it. 

I said — " Next time you will see ; I shall not do it 
again." I kept my word, but I never met a large male 
gorilla without thinking that it might be the last of me. 

There was great rejoicing, but it did not last long, 
for they soon began to quarrel about the apportionment 
of the meat. They really eat the creature, and the Fans 
told me that next to the flesh of man the gorilla meat 
was the best. It looked wonderfully like beef, only it 
seemed to be almost wholly composed oF muscle. 

I saw that they would come to blows presently if I 



58 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

did not interfere ; hence I said that if they were going 
to fight I would join in ; and taking the butt-end of my 
gun, I said I would smash the heads of the three while 
they were fighting with each other. 

This saying of mine at once made them laugh and 
they became quiet. They knew that I meant what I 
said, and they did not fancy getting a thrashing. 

The subject of the quarrel was about the brain of the 
gorilla. Miengai said he would have the whole of it, 
for he was the oldest. What would they have known 
about the spirit pointing out to me if it had not been for 
him ? He said this with such complacency and self-sat- 
isfaction that I could not help smiling ; but this argument 
of Miengai did not seem to satisfy Makinda and Yeava. 

So I said I would give part of the brain to each of 
them, and when they had it they wrapped it most care- 
fully in leaves, and I was told that monda (charms) 
were to be made of this — charms of two kinds. Prepared 
in one way, and mixed with bone, claws, feathers, ashes 
of certain beasts, birds, and trees, the charm would give 
the wearer a strong hand for the hunt, after he had rub- 
bed his hands and arms with the mixture. Prepared 
another way it gave the wearer success with women ; 
he became irresistible, and all the pretty girls were will- 
ing to become his wives. I could not help thinking that 
if that latter charm was real, how much bachelors and 
widowers would like to possess it at home where pretty 
girls are so difficult to please. 

My men in the evening fed on the gorilla meat, and 
I fed on the meat of a small and beautiful little gazelle 
which Makinda had killed. 

The blazing fires shed their light through the beauti- 



1 



THE PEOPLE SCARED. 59 

ful forest, and I went to sleep bappy : but during the 
night I awoke, uttering a tremendous shout which made 
my men laugh, for they had been up for some time in 
order to eatii little more of the gorilla meat. I had the 
nightmare, and had dreamed that I was pursued by half 
a dozen gorillas, and when I gave that aw^ful shriek I 
had just fancied that one of these monsters was clutching 
me and was going to carry me away to the forest. 

We were tired and worn out, but at last we reached 
a deserted village which we had found before our hunt- 
ing and where we had our camp. Judge of our astonish- 
ment when I found the place in possession of a division 
of travelling Bakalais ! The village was full of them : 
men, women, children and babies were there ; they had 
quantities of food ; all their baggage, composed of old bask- 
ets, cooking-pots, calabashes, mats; and all their farming 
implements. The men were all armed. 

My apparition among them threw them into the utmost 
confusion, and if I had not been followed bv Mienoai, who 
shouted to them to keep still, they would have fled ; but 
after a while we were great friends, especially after I had 
distributed a few beads among the women. 

They had been living on the banks of a river called 
Noya, and were moving far from that place toward an- 
other village where the old chief had two or three sons- 
in-law and the same number of fathers-in-law. 

These people seemed to be in dread of something. 
They seemed to be in retreat, as though they had fled 
from their former place of abode. 

I learned that, a few days before, one of their men 
while bathing in the river had been killed by some un- 
known enemy. Hereupon they were seized with a pan- 



60 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR 

ic, believed their village attacked by witcbes, that the An- 
iemba witchcraft was among them, and they must aban- 
don it and settle elsewhere or they would all die one after 
the other. 

Just a little before sunset I saw every one of them re- 
tire within doors ; the children ceased to play, and all 
became very quiet in the camp, where just before there 
was so much noise and bustle. Then suddenly arose on 
the air one of those mournful, heart - piercing chants 
which you hear among all the tribes of this land. It 
was a chant for one of their departed friends. As they 
sang, tears rolled down the cheeks of the women, fright 
distorted their faces and cowed their spirits. 

I listened and tried to gather the words of their 
chants. There was a very monotonous repetition of one 
idea — that of sorrow at the departure from among them 
of one of their friends and fellow- villagers. 

Thus they sang : 

We chi noli lubella pe na heshe 
" Oh, you will never speak to us any more, 
We can not see your face any more ; 
You will never walk with us again, 
You will never settle our palavers for us." 

And so on. 

They sang until the sun had disappeared below the 
horizon, till the orb that gives gladness to the heart and 
life to the world had gone from sight, and they chose the 
time of its disappearance to pour out their mourning- 
songs. I thought there was something very poetical in 
the relationship of the time to the subject. For what 
should we do without the sun ? It is the very heart of 
life I 



CHAPTER VII. 

AN AFRICAN FIRESIDE. — A CAMP BY THE SEA-SHORE. — THE 
FIRST GORILLA HUNTER. — NEGRO BLARNEY. 

As I and my men lay by tlie fire, I said to them — 
" Now to-night I am going to tell you a story ; an old 
story from the white man's country concerning yours." 
There was a very great silence at once, for they knew it 
was not often I came out with a story, and they all shout- 
ed with one accord — " Tell us a story I" at the same time 
forming a circle round me. 

So I begun : "Ever so long ago, and a long way off 
from here, but still in your own land, there was a power- 
ful country called Carthage. The people of that country 
were brave and not afraid of war. They had many ships, 
and their ships went into different countries. At that 
time the Commi nation must have been a long way in 
the interior and your people had never seen the sea. 

" Would you believe," said I, " that these Carthaginians 
came with their ships round here? And I really think 
they saw the very country in which we now are! They 
not only saw this country, but saw the gorilla, yes, saw the 
gorilla ! If you were in the white man's country I would 
show you the old manuscript (the book), where we have 
an account of what I am going to say. You know," said 
I, " that words coming from the mouth are soon forgot- 



62 WILD LIFE UXDER THE EQUATOR. 

ten, but these words that are written are not." Tlien tak- 
ing from mj chest my journal, I read it to them, and then 
said — " \Yhen I am dead, and 3'ou and your children are 
dead, and for ever so long afterward, that journal, if it is 
not lost, will be read in the same manner as I read it to you 
to-day, and the people will understand the meaning of it 
then as you do to-day, and will know what I did, though 
thousands of rainy and dry seasons may pass awa3^ 

*' So Hanno the Carthaginian," I continued, "was the 
head-man of all these ships, and left Carthage with sixty 
vessels. In that time the ships w.ere unlike those j'OU 
see now, and thirty thousand men and women are said 
to have sailed with h\\w. Each ship was rowed by 
fifty oarsmen. When we read that book called the 
'Periplus; or. The Voyage of Hanno,' we find the fol- 
lowing words in which we now suppose he alludes to the 
gorilla : 

" ' On the third day, having sailed from thence, pass- 
ing the streams of fire, we came to a bay called the 
Horn of the South." 

["That 'Horn of the South,'" I added, "might be 
Cape Lopez."] 

" ' In the recess was an island like the first, having a 
lake, and in this there was another island full of wild 
men.'" 

[At this point of my story they looked in each other's 
faces with amazement] 

"'But the greater part of them were women with 
hairy bodies, whom the interpreters called Gorillas.'" 

[Here there rose a wild shout of astonishment.] 

" 'But pursuing them, we were not able to take the 
men, who all escaped from us by their great agility, being 



THE FIRST GORILLA HUNTER. 



63 



tremenobates (that is to say, climbing precipitous rocks 
and trees, and defending themselves by throwing stones 
at us). We took three women, who bit and tore those 
who caught them, and were unwilling to follow them. 
We were obliged to kill them, and took their skins off, 
which skins were brought to Carthage, for we did not 
navigate further, provisions becoming scarce.' " 




EVENING AMUSEatn^NTS IN AFKICA- 



During this latter part of my story there w^as a dead 
silence, and as soon as I had finished they said — "Chail- 
lu, is this a real story or not?" And when I assured 
them it was, they said — " Yes, it must be the gorilla that 
that man called Ilanno saw." 

I was quite astonished at their remembering the name 



64 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

of the admiral ; it showed me what an impression my 
story had created on their minds. 

Then said I: " Boys, there are two or three points in 
the story I have told you which inclines me to believe 
that the country Hanno speaks of is not this one, and 
still there are several facts which make me think that 
the country where we are now is the same. 

" The very iand on which we stand is sandy ; not far 
off is the River Fernand Vaz, and on one side another 
river, the Commi River, is found. It may be that the 
land on which we stand was then an island, and that 
Cape Lopez is the Horn of the South of which that 
great man Hanno speaks. Time changes countries ; in 
one part the sea will take away, in another part the sea 
will give. Such is the country in which we are." 

They shouted with one accord that it could not be ; 
how could land rise ? how could the land go down ? As 
to the sea eating away the land, they believed it, for 
they had seen it; and as to the land gaining in some 
places, they believed that also, for they had seen it. 

They all wondered how near the word Gorilla was to 
that of Ngina and Nguyla, the latter name being given 
by the Bakalai to the beast. 

After my story, we all went to bed. I wrapped my- 
self carefully in my blanket and soon fell asleep, think- 
ing unconsciously of the gorillas, and hoping soon to 
meet some. 

It was the dry season ; we were in the month of 
August, and I was near Cape St. Catherine. The wind 
was blowing hard, the atmosphere was chilly, the sky 
was clouded as though it was going to rain, but no rain 
was coming, for no rain falls at this time of the year. 



ON THE SEA-SHORE. 65 

The thermometer stood at 70°, but I felt quite cold, and 
I wore a sailor's woolen shirt. 

The sea was rolling up the shore in heavy rollers 
which would upset a canoe in the twinkling of an eye : 
we had just arrived, and had come to hunt, fish, and be 
merry. 

My Commi men had all gone to the woods to cut 
branches of palm-trees, and collect poles to build shelters. 

I wish you could have seen the place where I had 
my encampment. On that part of the coast from Cape 
Lopez, and further south than Cape St. Catherine, the 
whole coast is low and covered .with prairies which lift 
but a few feet above the sea level. They are wooded 
here and there, and shrubs are often mixed with the 
grass growing on the san^y soil ; the grass is good, not 
growing to a great height, but at this time of the year 
it has been burned down. The landscape has a great 
sameness, and from the sea it is most difficult to know 
any special spot of the land. Altogether it is a dreary 
country, a very dreary country to look at, but after all 
I was thankful not to be shut up in the forest; for to 
see nothing but trees and trees is very tiresome; be- 
sides, the Atlantic was before me, and as I gazed upon its 
broad waters I wished I could see the shores of America. 

The spot where I stood was about two degrees south 
of the equator. 

Our camp was to be built near one of those numerous 
islands of trees which dot the prairie, and we were to 
have it built in such a manner as to protect us from the 
high winds which blew almost directly from the south 
that time of the year. 

One by one the men came back — some with a load of 



G6 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

long stem-branches of the palm ; others with the leaves', 
others with fire-wood, and others with sticks to make our 
beds with. 

Then we went to work in earnest, and as they work- 
ed the men sang songs. Tliese men, my own people, 
had always been with me wherever I went except when 
I went too far into the interior. They were all splendid 
canoe-men. 

Tliere was Kombe whom we had called the quarrel- 
ler ; Katenou his brother, who was a splendid fellow to 
go with his canoe through the breakers; Oshimbo, who 
could paddle better than any man I ever knew; Ritim- 
bo, a jolly good fellow, always ready to beat the tam- 
tam when asked for ; Makombe, a splendid one to tell 
us marvellous stories in the evening ; Rakenga, a great 
fisherman ; Bandja, a man who knew how to climb 
the palm-trees and get palm wine; Adouma, who could 
trap game and was said to possess a wonderful fetich to 
make the game come to him ; Risani, a good carpenter, 
who said he was willing to work, but who was contin- 
ually talking of the amount of food he could eat; then 
came Yombi, who constantly bragged of how much palm 
wine he could swallow, but was always promising never 
to get tipsy — for I had promised him as good a drubbing 
as ever he would wish to get if I canght him in a state 
of intoxication. The last man of the party was a slave, 
a harp player. 

There was no hunter but myself. 

So you see we were a nice set altogether, and all were 
devoted to me and obeyed me cheerfully. They all 
loved me dearly. Indeed, all the people of that country 
loved me. 



NEGRO BLABNE Y. 67 

We had also quite an outfit of tilings with us. The 
cooking utensils were numerous : we had three brass 
kettles, three iron pots, one frying-pan, and three water- 
jars. We had also three axes, half a dozen machetes, and 
several fishing-nets, and I had three of my guns, fifty 
pounds of shot, a couple of hundred bullets, and there 
were flint-lock guns for the men. We did not care to 
be armed ; we were in our own country — in the Commi 
Country, where my settlement of Washington is situated, 

I had three chests, one containing my clothes and one 
fiilled with splendid heads of Kentucky tobacco for my 
men, for they were all inveterate smokers, myself being 
the only one that did not smoke, i had also several 
dozens of pipes. 

All rejoiced at the unbounded supply of tobacco and 
pipes: they were to have such a glorious time; they 
were to take such great care of their friend Chaillee, their 
king ; there was no other Ntangani (white man) like 
him ; he was their good Mbuiti (spirit) ; all this talk was 
to soften my heart about the tobacco. 

At last the camp was done, and we were not sorry, 
for we had worked hard the whole day. We had a huge 
pile of plantains with us, which the wives and slaves of 
King Olenga Yombi had brought to us ; we had a large 
quantity of sugar-cane and some baskets of ground-nuts ; 
the river and the sea were not far off, and having our 
nets with us there was a prospect of getting plenty of 
fish. 

In the evening, when my men were smoking their 
pipes, we quietly talked about our hunting and fishing 
prospects. 

I had discovered that this Cape St. Catherine was a 



68 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



very great gorilla country. These huge beasts roam in 
the forests which grow down to the very edge of the sea, 
and now and then get a peep at the ocean. I wonder 
what they think of it. I would have given the world to 
see tliem looking at it ; to see their deep gray eyes gazing 
on the broad expanse of the waters. I have seen their 
very footsteps within a few yards of the beach. 




IgM 


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Pl^^jd 


Mi|BaSSiJi 


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SC^^SlI 


HV' m 


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V . < < 1 . < /fflH^^^^JS 




Ail^^^^fe^^^^i«||jf^HK| 




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li^^P 



CHAPTER VIII. 

HIPPOPOTAMUS HUNTING. — WE KILL ONE. — THE MEN EAT 
IT. POOR BEEF. WHAT THE TUSKS ARE FOR. 

It was night ; the moon had just risen, and threw a 
strange glare on every thing round ; I was in the prairie, 
and had been there since ten o'clock in the morning, 
looking for wild beasts. 

At last I saw five hippopotami grazing. I approached 
with cautious steps, or rather I crawled on the ground 
toward the huge beasts, till I came near enough to see the 
shadows their immense bodies threw around them. 

The question was how to get within gunshot without 
being seen. There was nothing to protect me from their 
view, for the grass had been burned ; there was nothing 
either to protect me against their assault. Supposing that 
I killed the one I should shoot at, the others might take 
it into their heads to charge upon me. Not a tree was 
within reach. Now I had been so accustomed to hunt 
wild beasts that I was not afraid of any of them, but I 
knew that I could not kill five hippopotami at once. 

Suddenly the animals turned round and gradually 
approached a grove of trees ; but what was to be done? 
the wind almost blew from that grove toward them! 
" At any rate I will try," said I to myself, "to go there, 



70 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOM, 

but I must take a roundabout way." How careful I bad 
to be in order not to be seen ! 

I felt very much excited, and when I reached the lit- 
tle island, or grove, of trees without being discovered I 
was mightily pleased with myself. It was, I thought, a 
splendid piece of woodcraft on my part. I fancied I was 
almost the equal of Aboko, who had killed the rogue 
elephant at Cape Lopez. I had reached the grove from 
the opposite side to that where I supposed the hippopot- 
ami to be. The only sure way for me to come close 
to them was to go through the grove and wait until they 
should come within gunshot from the other side. 

The trees were not very thick, and I could pass 
through the underbrush without making much noise. I 
thought that perhaps there was a leopard there, and if so 
he would leap upon me before I was aware. It was just 
the 'time of the night when they were out, and they 
abounded in that region. I therefore entered the woods, 
looking to the left and to the right and ahead of me, in 
order not to be surprised, and met several hippopota- 
mi tracks. 

Just as I was in the midst of the grove I suddenly 
heard a great crash in the direction I was going. Then 
followed several other crashes coming from other parts. 
I listened: they were the hippopotami: they had enter- 
ed the grove by several paths converging toward me. 

I kept still. I do believe my hair must have stood 
up on my head, for I was awfully excited. The hippo- 
potami were coming just where I was. 

I cocked my gun, hid myself behind a big tree, and 
waited. I heard the crash of branches in all directions 
except one, and finally saw the branches of the treea 



/ 



A DINNER OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. 73 

moving not far from me, and by the dim moonlight 
piercing through the not very thick foliage, I perceived 
a monster hippopotamus, the male of the herd, coming 
sideways so as to pass within a few yards of me. Sud- 
denly he stopped ; gave one of his sonorous grunts ; and 
then advanced. What a monster he was I What a huge 
body ! What short legs! At last, just as he had passed 
me, so that he could not face me without turning his 
unwieldy body, I fired into his ear, and the monster 
dropped on the spot with scarcely a struggle. But I 
wish you had been with me to hear the rush 'of the 
others. I thought all the trees were coming down ! One 
in his fright came down in my direction. I thought he 
was charging me, so I fired, and I heard the bullet strike 
some part of his body, probably one of his tusks, for it 
made a great noise ; but that was all ; he passed on with 
a rapidity of which I thought these beasts perfectly in- 
capable. I was glad when they were all out of the way. 

It had been an exciting hunt and I was satisfied. So 
I returned to the camp, and the next day we all went 
to cut up the beast. Some of the married men cut long 
strips of the hide to make whips, which they use pretty 
freely on the backs of their wives ; but I made them 
promise not to use these whips except in self-defense. 

There was joy in the camp in the evening. We had 
music, and I enjoyed the broth amazingly ; it was really 
good, and I wish I could say the same of the flesh ; but 
he was an old fellow and the meat was exceedingly 
tough. I soon gave up the job of trying to eat it. 

It did me good to see how my men enjoyed it. They 
had a dance in the evening. 

In the book called " Stories of the Gorilla Country " I 



74 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

have not told how curious is the head of this great, un- 
wieldy creature. 



HEAD OF HIPPOPOTAMUS. 



Look at the huge, crooked tusks! What are they 
for? 

After watching a great many times the movements 
of the hippopotamus, I became assured that these huge, 
crooked tusks, which give its mouth such a savage ap- 
pearance, are designed chiefly to hook up the long river- 
grasses on which these animals feed in great part. I 
have often seen one descend to the bottom, remain a few 
minutes, and re-appear with its tusks strung with grass 
which was then leisurely chewed up. 

There are no large herds of hippopotami in the parts 
of Africa I have explored, like those found in South 
Africa, thirty being about the greatest number I have 
ever seen together 



CHAPTEE IX. 

A GEEAT GORILLA. 

A FEW days after killing the hippopotamus I took a 
solitary path in the woods, leading to one of the la- 
goons or creeks so common along this coast. Many of 
the trees growing in the woods belonged to a species of 
African teak. The soil being sandy, the forest was not 
dense. Here and there a cluster of palms, bearing the 
nut that furnishes the palm-oil, was seen. Liannes and 
creepers twined round some of the trees and hung grace- 
fully down. The limbs and trunks of many trees were 
literally covered with orchidae, commonly called air 
plant. These when in bloom bear very beautiful flow- 
ers which shed a delicious fragrance. 

In many places the pine-apple plants were very abun- 
dant and grew by thousands close together. 

Now and then a little stream, meandering through the 
woods, found its way to the creek or to the sea. 

Birds were scarce, very scarce, and the silence of the 
woods was only broken by the booming sound of the 
heavy surf, as each wave broke in foaming white bil 
lows before it reached the shore. The wind blew hard, 
as usual at that time of the year, and whispered strnncre- 
ly as it passed through the trees to the country behind. 



76 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR, 



Now and then I could see the foot-prints of gorillas 
that had wandered like myself through the woods, but 
these foot-prints were several days old. I came to a 
place where the pine-apple plants were abundant, and 
where the gorillas had evidently feasted on the leaves, 
for thousands of them had been plucked out and only 
the white part eaten. Here and there a young pine-ap- 




FOOT-PBINT8 OF THE GOBILLA. 



pie had been partly eaten away by these hairy men of 
Hanno, one or two bites taken and the fruit then thrown 
aside. 

I bad to be very careful in walking for fear of mak- 
ing a noise, for the forest not bemg dense, gorillas could 
have seen me at a long distance. The tondo fruit was 
also abundant throughout the wood. 



A OMEAT GORILLA. 77 

After I had followed the woods along the sea-shore 
for a while I suddenly came to a ^ place where a large 
male gorilla had been : the foot-prinls were of enor- 
mous size and he must have been a monstrous fellow. 

This place was not further than three feet from the 
beach, and I could distinctly see by the foot-prints of 
the monster that it had been on all-fours and suddenly 
had raised itself to an erect posture; while the bending 
of a branch about eight or nine feet high, just above the 
marks, showed that the animal had supported himself by 
it. By the position of the heels I knew that the mon- 
ster had been looking at the sea. 

Yes, he had been looking, probably in great wonder, 
at the broad expanse of water before him : he had seen 
the waves as they came in white billows breaking them- 
selves on the beach ; as far as his deep-sunken gray 
eyes could reach they had seen nothing but the ocean : 
perhaps he had also been looking at the sun as it disap- 
peared below the horizon. 

I could but wonder what the thoughts of that great 
ape might have been I 

" Yes," said I to myself, " this must be the country 
where Hanno the Carthaginian came." And for a while I 
thought of those men of old whose history we learn at 
school or college. 

They have gone, but they have left their mark behind 
them, and will continue to be remembered for a long 
time. Then I put my feet inside of the foot-prints of the 
gorilla — how small they did look when compared with 
those of the huge creature! — and for a while I stood ex- 
actly on the same spot where he had stood. I do not 
know why, but I felt a kind of satisfaction in doing so; 



78 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

and like him I gazed at the sea, but, unlike him, I thought 
of the dear friends who lived on the other side, and I 
blessed them ! 

Tnen, looking carefully at my gun, I left the place and 
continued my ramble, when lo ! in the far distance I spied 
a gorilla ! The beast did not see me : it was a female, 
and must have been half a mile from the sea. I hid my« 
self behind a tree in order to watch all her movements 
unseen. She was seated on the ground before a cluster 
of pine-apples, quietly eating one : she soon threw it away 
and plucked some of the leaves. How black the face 
was ! She grinned now and then, probably from the joy 
the food gave her, when suddenly, to my utter astonish- 
ment, a little gorilla, about two feet and a half in height, 
came running to its mother, who gave a kind of chuckle 
that resembled very much the click of the Bushmen of 
Southern Africa. 

I began to be terribly excited. I must kill the moth- 
er and try to capture the young one. How sorry I was 
to be alone. I wished my men had been with me. 

Unfortunately there were many intervening trees, and 
she was about three hundred yards off. How could the 
bullet from my' rifle reach her? I had just left my 
place of concealment when she perceived me. She utter- 
ed a piercing cry and disappeared, with her young one 
following her. 

When I returned to the camp every body had gone 
except Kombe, who had been left in charge. On my way 
back I took the sea-shore, and saw on the beach for the 
first time the foot-prints made by the hippopotami, and 
I wondered what they came to do so near the sea. So I 
followed one and was surprised to see their heavy foot- 



A TOUNO GORILLA. 



79 




FEMALE GOKII.LA A>"P UKU YOUSG. 



steps along the beach : they must certainly have come 
there to bathe, and this I had never seen before. 

One fine morning, just at sunrise, I spied a sail coming 
from the south. How glad I was as I saw that sail corn- 
ing nearer "and nearer ! 

I knew that white men were on board ! 

The canoe which my men had fetched from Amimbri 
lay on the beach ready to be launched: the men were 
there with their paddles ready. Ratenou was in com- 
mand and waiting for my orders. 

What was to be done ? I had left the flag at Wash- 
ington ! How sorry I felt ! 

A long pole which Kombe had cut was brought, and 



80 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOH. 

instead of the flag one of my white shirts was tied to ita 
top by the sleeves, and then the pole was elevated, and 
soon the shirt floated in the shape of a flag. 

The vessel came nearer and nearer the shore, and I 
could soon make out that it was a whaler : there was no 
nistake about it, for I could see the whale-boats. 

With my spy-glass I looked and saw the white faces 
of the men. 

The ship hoisted its flag, and the stars and stripes of 
the great Eepublic displayed themselves. A wild hur- 
rah from me greeted their appearance, and my men gave 
three cheers. 

The breakers were heavy, very heavy, but we must 
go on board ; I must hear the news ; I must see the face 
of a white man — I who had been so long away from civ- 
ilization, from my kindred, and from the world.. 

" Boys, let us try !" I shouted with excitement ; '' let us 
go on board I" 

All the voices of my men shouted, *' Let us try !" and 
immediately the canoe came down the beach, five men 
on each side paddle in hand, Eatenou and I standing by 
the stern. 

We were watching an opportunity when the angry 
billows should calm down and there should be a lull. 
The lull came, and almost as quick as lightning the 
canoe was in the sea and we were off. My men paddled 
as hard as they could in order to pass the surf before the 
heavy rollers should break again. 

But lo! when we were about midway, the face of 
Ratenou changed color, for from far away came one of 
*,hose heavy swells that, as he knew, would gradually 
change itself into a heavy roller as it neared the shore^ 



A GMEAT GORILLA. 81 

and in breaking dash to pieces all that came in contact 
with it. If that roller broke before it reached us, how- 
ever, all would be right. 

It came on, rising and rising, when suddenly Katenou 
said — " Commi, you are men 1 Let us take care of our 
white man 1" 

Then the paddles stood still ; the roller crested and 
broke right upon our canoe, upsetting it with fearful 
force, and whirling us round and round. I w^as stunned 
by the force of the waves ; breaker after breaker came 
dashing upon us, one after the other, but the faithful 
Commi men were there, shouting one to another — "Let 
us take care of our white man !" Eatenou, Kombe, and 
Oshimbo were swimming under me; I was surrounded 
by them all ; good, noble fellows they were. At last 
we reached the shore. I looked round. Every man 
was there ; no one had been drowned ; no one had had 
his head smashed by the upsetting of the canoe. With 
a grateful heart I thanked God for his goodness to us 
all. The tide was coming up, and our canoe and pad- 
dles were soon thrown on the beach by the force of the 
waves and the current. 

I looked at that vessel, and how sorry I was when 
gradually- its white sails became dimmer and dimmer in 
the distance. At last it disappeared, and with a heavy 
sigh I made for the camp. 

If you had been in a strange land amid savages, f 
am sure you would have felt as I did then. 
6 



CHAPTER X. 

DEATH 11^ AN AFRICAN VILLAGEc LAMENTATIONS. THE 

FUNERAL CEREMONIES. AN AFRICAN CEMETERY. 

What a strange thing is an African funeral! In a 
town on the banks of the Rembo, called Conaco, where I 
had just arrived in my canoe, a man was very ill. These 
poor savages seemed to be very sorry for him, but did 
not know what to do. If I remember aright, the name 
of that man was Irende. He had been a great warrior 
and a great hunter, but disease had laid him prostrate, 
though he was still a young man. 

The next day a great many people came into the vil- 
lage with their tam-tams, or drums, and different sorts of 
musical instruments. They were to try if they could 
not drive the devil away. With a great deal of trouble 
a few guns had been obtained, and also some powder, in 
order to make more noise. 

In the evening the people entered the hut of Irende 
and began to sing. The drummers had already gone in- 
side and were beating their drums most furiously ; a few 
broken brass kettles added their noise to that of the 
drums ; some beat sticks on pieces of wood. In fact, 
every body tried to make all the noise he could. At 
last those who had the guns came and fired them close 
to the ears of the poor fellow, and also near his stom- 



DEATH IN A VILLAGE. 83 

ach, where the ahamho (the devil) was supposed to be. 
I could not stay more than five minutes in the hut, for 
the din was too great for me. They wanted to drive 
the abambo out of the poor sick man so that he might get 
well. But all the drumming they did, all the mhuiti 
(idol) had said concerning his recovery, all the care his 
wives, sisters and his mother bestowed upon him, were 
of no avail. 

The poor fellow died the second day after my arrival, 
right in. the midst of the drumming, just a few min- 
utes after the guns had been fired near his ears and stom- 
ach. It was midnight when he died. I was in my hut, 
which was not far off, when suddenly there burst from 
one end of the village to the other a wail that told me 
the sad story. Irende was dead ! 

What a wail it was I It went right to my heart, it was 
so piercing, so heart-rending ; I could not help but feel 
sorry for these poor people. The wailing and the mourn- 
ing-songs lasted all night ; there was no sleep for me. 

In the morn in a: I was led once more to the house 
where the body was laid. The room was crowded: 
women from all the villages round had come, and they 
were all seated on the floor. There must have been 
about three hundred of them, and they were singing 
mournful songs to doleful and monotonous airs. The 
tears were running down their cheeks. The wives of 
the poor fellow, ten in number, had shaven their hair, 
had taken off their garments and were almost naked, 
and they had rubbed their bodies with ashes. Their 
anklets and bracelets had been removed, and round their 
necks they wore a piece of native cord indicating thai 
they were widows and in mourning. 



84 



WILL LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



At length through the thick crowd I discovered the 
body of Irende. It was seated on a stool, the back lean- 
ing against the wall. It was dressed in an old coat, and 
by its side was a harp — for Irende had the reputation 
of being a great musician ; there also lay his spear and 
his gun, which were to be buried with him. 

His wives were round him, talking, begging him to 




MOUBNIMO TUE DEAD. 



speak to them, and then silence followed. No answer 
came. Then there burst forth a heart-piercing wail. 
"He is dead! he is dead I" they shouted. "His lips 
will speak to us no more ; he will not hunt for us any 
more ; he will play no more on the wombi for us 1" Then 
all ended in a long plaintive song. 

The mother came, and kneeling before him took hold 



AN AFRICAN FUNERAL. 85 

of his feet, which is the most supplicating manner of ad- 
dress in Africa; she looked in his face and said in a very 
plaintive voice — " My son, you have not spoken to your 
wives, but I know you will speak to your mother. 
You will say to her that you are not dead." 

The same silence ensued. 

They all waited in vain for an answer for a fe\;v 
minutes; then the poor mother rolled herself on the 
ground at her son's feet, shrieked and cried, and said — 
" Irende, why do you not speak to your mother ?" The 
poor mother's shrieks were so long, so piercing, and she 
uttered such a wail of grief, that' the tears came into my 
eyes. The poor African mother had a heart! 

As I left the hut, thinking how strangely the mind of 
man is constituted, the wailing continued, and was to be 
kept up until the burial of the corpse. 

The day of the funeral came, and we went to the bu- 
rial-ground. As the body left the village and was put 
into a canoe, the wailing was tremendous. The men 
that were to paddle were all painted, almost naked, and 
covered with fetiches. The drum beat as we descended 
the stream. 

As we, approached the burial-ground (for these Com 
mi have a sort of cemetery) all became silent. Not a 
word was said; they prayed Ovengua not to get hold of 
them, and the corpse was left on the sand, a certain 
amount of which was thrown over it. His womhi was 
laid by his side, his gun and his spear were placed in his 
hand, and necklaces and ornaments were left with him. 
A cooked dish of plantain and ajar of water were placed 
beside him, so that he might drink and eat if he chose, 
then all was over and we came away. 



86 



WILD LIFE TJKDER THE EQUATOR. 



What a strange burial-ground it was ! It was situ- 
ated on a prairie, with no trees in the neighborhood, and 
poles were the only signs that could show it to be a cem- 
etery. Here and there a grim skeleton could be seen, and 
the remains of things that had accompanied the deceased 
,men and women to the grave. 








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CHAPTER XL 

A TORNADO. — BEFORE THE STORM. — THUNDER AND LIGHT* 
NING. AFTER THE STORM. 

We had just returned to our camp in the forest. 
The day was intensely warm ; the rays of the sun pour- 
ed down upon mother-earth with fearful force; in the 
forest all was silent as death, for Nature herself seemed 
prostrated. 

We were in the season of the tornadoes — ther latter 
part of the month of March. 

The light air that we had, had ceased. The horizon 
toward the north-east grew black ; at first a black spot 
had appeared only a little above the horizon, then grad- 
ually rose higher and higher. The sight of this token 
inspired awe. The wind was blowing from the opposite 
direction. The white and fleecy clouds that were hang- 
ing in the atmosphere as they came near the black 
spot gradually stopped, and were slowly absorbed into 
black cloud. 

I looked anxiously on. To a stranger the appearance 
of the sky showed that a fearful storm was coming. 

The birds began to fly in the air in a frightened man- 
ner; my goats began to seek for shelter; the hens hid 
in the huts ; the dogs also sought shelter ; and the peo- 
ple were returning in hot haste from the plantations. 



88 WILD LIFE UNDEE THE EQUATOR. 

Every living thing seemed to know what was com- 
ing: even in the far distance I could hear the roar of the 
gorilla. 

The black spot gradually rose and formed a semicir- 
cle, while now and then the distant sound of thunder 
came upon our ears, warning us of the approaching 
storm. 

At last not a breath of air could be detected, and in 
an instant a white spot rose under the black horizon, 
and instantaneously scattered it into a thousand clouds. 
How wild and lurid the sky suddenly appeared ! In 
less than two minutes it was one mass of blackness, the 
clouds fleenig with terrible velocity, driven away by the 
white spot, which now increased to huge dimensions. 
The tops of the trees began to sway rapidly, and before 
we knew it the fearful wind was upon us. Our little 
houses were unroofed, and the wind came with a violence 
that was quite appalling. The limbs of the trees broke 
down first, then the trees themselves, and as they fell 
each brought down half a dozen others with it, which in 
falling occasioned a booming sound that resounded from 
hill to hill. The monke3\s became frightened, and their 
wild chattering indicated that they were filled with ter- 
ror. It was indeed a wild and terrible spectacle. 

Flashes of lightning were followed by terrific claps 
of thunder. The first clap brought me upon my feet, for 
I thought the lightning must have struck some of us. 
I was almost blinded by the flash. What a terrific re- 
port followed ! It came on sudden and sharp like the 
firing of a cannon, and made my ears ring and ring till I 
thouo^ht I should be deafened. 

This was followed by other terrific claps of thunder 



THUNDER AND LIGHTNING. 91 

and flashes of lightning which seemed to illuminate the 
whole sky, accompanied by a pouring rain, a rain so 
dense that one might have fancied the skies to have been 
rent in two. Finally the wind ceased, and, thank God I 
had only lasted about ten minutes, though turning all 
round the compass. The rain, thunder and lightning 
still continued. Such a storm I had seldom witnessed 
even in this region of thunder and tornado. Wherever 
I turned, the bright light in the skies met my eyes : from 
the West to the North, from the North to the East, and 
from the East to the South. 

The flashes of lightning were horizontal, of tre- 
mendous glare and length, and zigzag ; sometimes they 
were perpendicular. For hours and hours the boom of 
thunder went on, fearful claps bursting from every 
corner of the sky without intermission. There wa3 
scarcely a moment's interval between the reports. I 
took special pains to notice this fact. 

The sound of the thunder seemed to come from all 
round the sky ; the whole of the heavens seemed to be 
a sea of fire. What could be more sublime, in the 
whole domain of Nature, than this grand storm in these 
equatorial regions of Africa? It was worth coming 
from our milder climate to see it, to behold this war 
of the elements, to hear such claps of thunder, to see 
such torrents of rain pouring down. 

Though filled with awe and a dread of I did not 
know what, I looked on till my eyes were almost blind- 
ed ; I listened and listened until my ears were deafened 
by the appalling noise of the thunder. I am certain that 
no country can boast of more fearful thunder than these 
equatorial and mountainous regions of Western Africa. 



92 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

At last, after a few hours, the claps cf thunder became 
less terrible, and there were greater intervals between 
the flashes of lightning, which began to diminish in 
brightness. Grradually the storm ceased, the clouds dis 
appeared, and the bluest of skies was disclosed overhead 
What a deep blue it was; how beautiful, how lovelv, 
how pure, and how serene ! 

God, how great thou art! I said to myself. Wliat 
is man that thou lookest down upon him ? He is a creat- 
ure of thy hands. 

The stars shone with all their .brightness. At that 
time of the year the southern heaven was in its full 
beauty. All the constellations of the Southern Hemi- 
sphere were in view, and the whole sky seemed to be in 
a perfect blaze of light. How beautiful and resplendent 
the Milky Way looked ! Being not far from th-e equa- 
tor, I could see also many of the northern constellations. 

The constellation of the Great Bear was in full sight, 
and reminded me of my northern home, of dear friends, 
of joys that have gone, of friendships which distance 
could not kill, of boys and girls I knew, and I wonder- 
ed if sometimes they thought of me as I thought of 
them. 

1 was wet through ; for our fires had been extinguish- 
ed and we had the greatest trouble to light them again ; 
and during the night nothing was heard but the mourn- 
ful cries of the owl and now and then the disagreeable 
howl of the hyena. 




CHAPTER XII. 

A CREEK IXFESTED BY SNAKES. — SNAKE IN THE BOAT. — 
AN L'GLY VISITOR. 

It is intensely hot. We are at the end of the month 
of March ^ and the rays of the sun are pouring upon ns 
with a power which is terrific. Every two or three 
minutes I dip my umbrella into the water, for after this 
lapse of time it is perfectly dry; green leaves and a 
wet handkerchief are in my Panama hat, which now and 
then I also dip into the water of tiie stream. 

You will ask me in what kind of country I find my- 
self in such a plight. I am in a very complicated net- 
work of creeks, swamps, dense forest, and overflowed 
lands, forming a delta, which in the work I published 
in 1861 I named the Delta of the Osfobai. For several 
days I have been here in a canoe exploring the country 
by water. What a lonely place ! We have not seen a 
single village, we have met not a single human being; 
it is a complete desolation, and on the day in question 
it seemed more desolate than usual. The creek we had 
got into was narrow, and on botii sides there was an in- 
terminable forest of palms, that kind which yields bitter 
nuts to eat; these grow to the water's edge, and many 
of their graceful branches are bathed in the stream. 

The current was strong, and evidently a tremendous 



94 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

quantity of fresh water coming from the interior was car- 
ried by it into the sea. 

The atmosphere was hazy, and, as is generally the 
case in those equatorial regions, I could see the vapor 
arising and quivering as it ascended. 

At last we entered a narrow creek, where the current 
was not so strong. We had hardly proceeded two 
or three miles when snakes became quite abundant in 
the water. W,e were in the Creek of Snakes. I do not 
know what else to call it. 

What a horrid sight ! They were of all colors and 
sizes: some were small and slender, others short and 
thick. One peculiar kind struck me at once as one that 
I had never seen before^ It swam not far from our ca- 
noe, and appeared to be of a bright orange-yellow color. 
I am sure it was a very venomous one, one whose bite 
would kill a man in less than five minutes, for the head 
was very triangular. Then came a large black one with 
a yellow stripe on the belly ; it appeared to me to be ten 
feet long; the black shone as if it had been oiled. This 
fellow I also knew to be very poisonous; so when he 
raised his head above the water I sent a load of small 
shot into it, literally crushing it to pieces. Then we went 
immediately at him, and with a few strokes of the pad- 
dles we finished him up. I was going to make off, 
when two of the slaves who were of our party said we 
must put it in our canoe, and that they should eat the 
fellow in the evening. This created a great laugh from 
my Commi boys, and after making sure that the loath- 
some creature was dead we fished him out of the water. 
There was at first a jumping about of the men which I 
was afraid would upset the canoe, in which case we 



ly THE CREEK OF SERPEXTS. 



95 



would have been in a pretty fix, swimming about in a 
stream filled with snakes. At last order was restored ; 
the snake was cut into several pieces, which continued to 
move and almost appeared like several separate snakes. 
The pieces were put in a basket, and the ejes of my 
Apingis began to shine with delight, and it made their 
mouths water, they said, to think of the nice meal the^ 
were sroino: to have in the eveiiiug. 




1> ZHS numr ^r &>A&£& 



Just at this moment I spied one of these black snakes 
trying to get into our canoe by the bow. I made a 
tremendous leap, as if I had been bitten by a scorpion, 
the sight was so sudden. I took my gun, loaded with 
small shot — the best load to kill serpents with — and 
fired, cutting the saucy fellow in two ; then we paddled 
on, leaving master snake to take care of himself, know- 
inir that his case had been settled. 



06 ir/LZ? LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOH. 

I really believe all the snakes of the country had 
3ome to bathe in this creek on that day, and I did not 
wonder at it, it was so hot and sultry. I had often met 
with snakes in the river before, but never in such greai 
numbers and of so many different species. In little more 
than one hour and a half I must have seen two hundrec 
of them. I had never seen such a sight before ano 
never have since. 

Snakes are nasty things ! I do not like them at all 
They will never be my pets. But there is a country in 
the Bight of Benin where snakes can not be killed, un- 
der penalty of death. 

The sun began to go down, and as we paddled along 
we looked for a dry place on the shore where we might 
spend the night. The snakes had disappeared, and none 
were to be seen in the water. Of that circumstance I 
was very glad. 

To find a dry place was not an easy matter, for the 
land was low, swampy, and overflowed. The prospect of 
sleeping in the canoe and of being eaten up by mus- 
quitoes was not very cheering to my spirits. But the 
men knew a place where all the year round there was a 
dry spot, and where they often stopped when fishing ; but 
we must pull very hard in order to reach there before 
dark. As none of us wished to sleep in the canoe, the 
fellows paddled as hard as they could, and by half-past 
five o'clock we reached the place. 

It was sunset at six o'clock, so that we had plenty of 
time to fix our camp. 

The place was dreary enough and not very safe, to 
judge from the foot-pnnts of wild beasts that had come 
prowling about there, among which I could see distinct- 



CAMPING OUT. 97 

ly the tracks of what must have been an enormous leop- 
ard. Happily we had plenty of fire-wood in our canoe. 

The spot where we were to spend the night was mis- 
erable : the ground was damp, and it was also dirty, for 
there were bones of fishes and wild animals, the skins of 
plantains scattered all over, and the remains of extin- 
guished fires. The whole country seemed to be nothing 
but bog land. 

The first thing we did was to attend to our mus- 
quito-nets. We cut the large branches of the palm 
and stuck four of them into the ground to hang our nets 
upon. How to sleep ? this was the next great question. 
I did not like the idea of sleeping on the bare ground in 
a country where snakes were abundant. But what was 
to be done? It was getting late, so reluctantly I cut 
the leaves of the palm, put them thick one upon the 
other, and then laid my mat over the whole ; my men 
did the same ; the fires were lighted — about which we 
had some trouble, for my matches were wet. During 
the day, it being so warm, I had been afraid to carry 
them in my pocket or put them in a place where the sun 
shone, for fear that they would light of themselves. I 
had therefore placed them under the seat, and they had 
dropped down to the bottom of the canoe. So we had to 
use our flints and tinder. 

When night came our fires were blazing, and the 
sight of our camp was curious in the extreme. I was 
quietly lying between two immense fires, which almost 
surrounded me, for I had a lively fear of the snakes and 
I did not like the idea of one coming round me at night. 
It is strange how it is possible to enjoy a fire in the 
woods in this damp and warm climate. 



98 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOJi. 

My men killed one of the three fowls 1 had with me ; 
others took off the skins from the plantains, while the 
res; were preparing to boil the dry fish which we had in 
great abundance, for before entering the Delta of the 
Ogobai we had gone on a fishing excursion. 

Our cooking implements consisted of a kettle for boil« 
'ing the plantains, which, by the way, was getting to be 
much worn out, and my men were beginning to look 
forward to the time when it should be broken so that I 
would give it to them to make bracelets of; and two 
cooking-pots, one especially for my use and the other 
for the use of the men ; I also had a frying-pan, but noth- 
ing had been fried in it since I had it, for want of lard or 
oil. Our entire cooking operations consisted of boiling 
or roasting over a charcoal fire. 

The two poor fellows wiih the snake had no pot co 
cook it in, my Commi men objecting strongly to have 
any thing of the kind cooked in such a vessel. The 
Apingis were much downhearted, for they had antici- 
pated much pleasure from their snake-broth, the snake 
being, they said, very fat. They had on hand a little 
salt and a little Cayenne pepper. It would have tasted 
so good ! So they had to be satisfied with roasting the 
snake over the fire. 

After our meal I opened my chest to get some tobac- 
co. This of course " brought down the house," and 
^^hey seemed perfectly happy after their hard day's work, 
for the poor fellows had worked verj^ hard. 

They seated themselves round the fires, smoked their 
pipes, and gradually one by one fell asleep. It was 
a fortunate thing we had musquito-nets, for I could 
hear these insects buzzing about in such a manner that 



SXA KES B T NIGHT. 9 9 

one might have almost thought a band of music was 
playing in the neighborhood. 

At length I wrapped myself well in my blanket 
and went to sleep. But lo ! in the middle of the night 
I was awakened by the cackling of one of the fowls, 
which was tied by the leg to a stick we had put on 
the ground. I popped my head out of my musqui- 
to-net, when I beheld by the glow of the fire an enor- 
mous python (or snake), a tremendous big fellow, who 
had just come out of the water and was about to gobble 
up one of the two fowls, and would have swallowed 
both of them if it had had time to do so. No others 
wrere aroused by the noise the fowls made, so I quietly 
took my gun that laid alongside of me, and sent two 
loads into the python, which settled him. 

My men jumped up in alarm, seized their guns, and 
looked as warlike as possible. They thought we were 
attacked unr.wares by some Oroungou fellows, and set 
up a wild yell of defiance, which wac responded to by a 
most hearty laugh on my part. In the mean time the 
defeated boa had moved about in the midst of us and 
sent all the fellows off, just as they were asking, " AVho 
has been killed by that gun ?" and I shouted in reply, 
" This enormous snake." 

My two Apingi fellows' eyes brightened as they 
thought of the good food they were going to have, and 
said — " Ah ! ah ! if we had only known we should have 
brought a cooking-pot of our own ; we would have had 
such nice snake-broth all the time !" This snake meas- 
ured almost sixteen feet in length, and would have kept 
*he fellows in broth for a long while. 

We went to sleep again, leaving the two Apingis 



100 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOIL 

busily engaged in cutting the boa into small pieces and 
in roasting some of it over the fire. 

The next morning when I awoke the sun was bright ; 
a kind of vapor was rising from the waters of the Delta 
of the Ogobai, and all Nature was still. I could not hear 
the song of a single bird or the chatter of a single mon- 
key; now and then a fishing-eagle passed over our 
heads, and the whole scene presented was one of desola- 
tion. 

We cooked our breakfast, and immediately after our 
meal we again set out and soon entered a very narrow 
creek — so narrow in some places that the trees on the 
two banks were so close together that we had trouble in 
passing through with our canoe ; in one place I thought 
it would be utterly impossible. 

At last we eroerged into the waters of the Npoulou- 
iay and soon after found ourselves on the broad and 
placid waters of the Fernand Vaz, coming in sight of my 
settlement at Washington. 

A thrill of joy filled my heart when I saw my little 
settlement, for I was tired and worn out, and I needed a 
little rest — a little comfort in a plain way. I wanted to 
see my plantation, to see bow it bad grown since we 
parted, and if my stock of fowls had increased by new 
broods, or I could get a little milk from my goats. 
Then I wanted to see good King Eanpano and his 
brother Rinkimongani and all the good folks of Biaga- 
no. They were there on the shore ready to receive 
me. They were honest, straightforward people. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

DEINKIXG THE MBOUNDOU. — HOW OLANGA-COXDO COULD DO 

IT, HOW THE MBOTJXDOU IS MADE. THE EFFECT OP 

THE POISON. 

What a wild scene I beheld ; one whicli had never 
been seen before by any white man ! 

Olanga-Condo, a mighty ouganga (doctor), was to 
drink the mhoundou. What an awful poison this mloun- 
dou is ! Nevertheless, Olanga-Condo could drink it ; 
yes, he could drink it by bowlfuls, one of which was 
more than sufficient to kill any man or woman. 

You will ask me. How is it that Olanga-Condo could 
drink this mhoundou fm^ that other people could not? 
I suppose he accustomed his body to it by drinking it 
little by little from his childhood, but of course he would 
not tell any one how he could drink it without being 
hurt. 

The strange scene took place at Goumbi. 

King Quengueza had a dream, and in that dream he 
saw that there were people who were aniemha (wizards), 
and who wished to take his life. So he rose in the 
morning possessed with the belief that such designs were 
entertained against him. His already stern countenance 
became harsher, and the good old chief began to dread 
those around him. It was useless for me to tell him 



102 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOB. 

that there were no such people as wizards, and that no 
living being had power to kill another by witchcraft. 

He became suspicious of his dearest friends. His near» 
est relatives, he thought, were those who wanted to get rid 
of him in order to get his wives, slaves, ivory, and goods. 

What a terrible superstition this belief in witchcraft 
is ! The father dreads his children, the son his father 
and mother, the man his wife, and the wives their hus' 
bands. A man fancies himself sick ; he imagines the 
sickness has been brought upon him by those who 
want him out of the way, and .at last becomes sick 
through his fears. At night he fancies himself surround- 
ed by the aniemba who are prowling round his huts, and 
that evil spirits are ready to enter into him as he comes 
out ; and if this should happen he believes xhat disease 
and death are surely near. 

So Quengueza covered himself with feticlies, and every 
day invoked the spirits of his ancestors — Igoumbai, Rica- 
ti, Kombi, and Niavi (his mother)— to protect him from 
the aniemha. How strangely his voice sounded in the 
silence of the night ! One could not but be awed by it. 

Every morning he told the wonderful and frightful 
dreams he had — for these people believe in dreams — and 
he was so convinced that the village was full of wicked 
sorcerers, that at last the whole people became infected 
by his fears, each one thinking that his life was at stake. 
Hence the ouganga^ Olanga-Condo, had been ordered by 
the King to drink the mhoundou^ and then tell the names 
of the sorcerers. 

The leading people of Goumbi had met, and protest- 
ed that no one wanted to bewitch their king ; they all 
wanted him to live to the end of time. 



HOW TEE MBOUNDOU IS MADE. 



103 



Now they all sat in a circle on the ground ; each man 
had a short stick in his hand ; and Olanga-Condo was to 
take his position in the centre and drink the mhoundou in 
their presence. 

In the mean time I had assisted in the operation of 
making the mhoundou^ an operation which the drinker 
does not witness. A few red roots of the plant called by 
them the inhoundou were brought in, and the bark was 
scraped off by several of the natives into a vessel ; into 
this a pint of water was poured, and in about a minute 
fermentation took place, and the beverage effervesced al- 
most like champagne. The water soon became quite 
redjJind was the very color of the bark when the effer- 
vescing ceased. Two of Olanga-Condo's friends were 
present during this operation to see that all was fair. 




^3ri 



DBINKING THE MBOCNDOU. 



When the mixture was ready Olanga-Condo came, 
went to the centre of the circle, and the bowl containing 



104 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

the poison was banded to him : without faltering for a 
single moment, but full of faith, be emptied the bowl at 
one draught. 

In about five minutes the poison took effect. He 
began to stagger about; his eyes were injected; his 
limbs twitched convulsively; his voice grew thick; his 
veins showed themselves prominently, and his muscles 
contracted. His whole behavior was that of a drunken 
man. He began to babble wildly, and then it was sup- 
posed that the inspiration was upon him. The people 
beat regularly upon the ground with the short sticks they 
held, and sang in a sort of doleful voice — 

"If he is a witch, let the mhoundou kill him, 
If he is not, let the mhoundou go out." 

Then at times Layibirie, Quengueza's heir, and his 
nephews, Quabi, Adouma, and Rapeiro, asked if there 
was any man that wanted to bewitch King Quengueza. 

Olonga-Condo went on talking wildly, not answering 
;the questions, which were repeated over and over again. 
At last he said — " Yes ; some one is trying to bewitch 
'the King." 

Then came the query, "Who?" 

By this time the poor fellow was fortunately hopeless- 
ly tipsy, and incapable of reasonable speech. He bab- 
ibled some unintelligible jargon, and presently the in- 
quest was declared at an end. 

No persons had been accused, hence nobody was to 
be killed. But sometimes these doctors do mention 
-names, and one of these days I may give you an account 
■of murders committed in the name of witchcraft. 

The mhoundou is a dreadful poison,* one from which 

* This mhowidou pretty certainly belongs to a natural order that con- 



MURDERS ON ACCOUNT OF WITCHCRAFT. 105 

very few escape. Sometimes the veins of the victim will 
burst open, at other times blood will flow from his nose 
and eyes, and he drops dead a few minutes after drink- 
ing it. Hence the great power of the doctor. If a poor 
fellow is supposed to be a wizard, or to have bewitched 
the King or somebody else, he is forced to drink the 
mboundou whether he likes it or not. If the man dies, 
he is declared a witch ; if he survives, he is declared 
innocent, and those who have accused him pay him a 
fine. 

The ordeal is much dreaded by the negroes, who often 
run away from home and stay awny all their lives rather 
than submit to it, and will often rather enslave them- 
selves to another tribe. 

When the wizards are said to belong to another vil- 
lage, then wars frequently ensue. The man thought 
guilty is demanded to drink the mboundou, while his 
friends, who know that he will probably die, refuse to 
give him up. 

This belief in witchcraft is the great curse of Africa. 
According to this doctrine, every man that dies has been 
bewitched by some one. Death came into the world by 
witchcraft. For almost every man that dies somebody 
is killed, and often several persons are killed. 

The women being deemed of very little account in 

tains many venomous plants, viz., the Loganiace^ ; and, from the pecul- 
iar veining of the leaves, it is probably a species of Strychnos, belonging 
to that section of the genus which includes S. nux vomica. 

The taste of the infusion is extremely bitter. I gave some of the 
roots to Professor John Torrey, of New York. In the book published 
by the Messrs, Harper, called "Explorations in Equatorial Africa," I 
published the letter this able chemist wrote me on the properties of the 
mboundou. 



106 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

this part of the world, it is very seldom that at the 
death of one of them any body is killed. These poor 
heathen think no torture cruel enough to inflict upon a 
wizard. Sometimes the accused will be tied to a tree 
and burned by a slow fire; at other times they will 
bind him and put him in the track of an army of bash- 
ikouay ants. 

I remember the horrid sight I met one day ; it made 
my blood freeze all over. I shall never forget the scene 
as long as I live. I was hunting in the woods for birds, 
when I spied two green pigeons (treiyn nudirostris\ which 
I wanted for my collection of birds. By dint of great ex- 
ertions I penetrated the jungle to the foot of the tree, 
when lo ! a ghastly sight met my eyes. It was the corpse 
of a woman, young evidently, and with features once 
mild and amiable. She had been tied up here, on some 
infernal accusation of witchcraft, and tortured with a cru- 
elty which would have done honor to the Inquisition. 

The torture consisted in the laceration of the flesh all 
over the body, and fresh Cayenne pepper had been rubbed 
in the gashes. A cold perspiration covered my body ; 
my eyes became dim ; " Was it a dream?" I asked my 
self The devil himself could not have displayed more 
ingenuity in torture. I approached the corpse. It was 
cold. The poor girl was dead. What terrible sufferings 
she must have endured! 

Will you think hard of me when I say to you that I 
felt I could go into that village of wild men and shoot 
every one of them ? 

Aniemha! What a terrible meaning that word pos- 
sesses in the mind of the poor African of Equatorial Af- 
rica! To be bewitched is almost certain death. What 



A SPECIMES OF TORTTRE. 



107 



an awful superstition ! It leads to the most inhuman 
and abominable acts of cruelty. 

How many I have seen of these acts ! what refine- 
ment of barbarism I have seen displayed ! what numbers 
of poor innocent creatures I have seen slain ! what num- 
oers of families have in this way been made unhappy i 




CHAPTER XIY. 

1 ROYAL FEAST. — OX THE BAXKS OF THE OYENGA. — PEE- 

PAEATIOXS. — THE BILL OF FARE. A TASTE OF ELEPHANl 

AXD A MOUTHFUL OF MONKEY. 

A ROYAL feast is to be given to me: a real feast, 
where the King is going to show me what are the splen- 
dors of his kitchen department. That feast is to take 
place in the equatorial regions of Western Africa, on 
the banks of the Ovenga River. 

King Obindji is to give the repast. Mj friend "King 
Quengueza and myself will be the guests at the feast, 
and it promises to be a great affair. 

For some time past hunters have gone into the forest 
to kill and trap game, fishermen have been catching 
fish, and the women have been watching their plantain- 
trees and their cassada plantations, while the boys have 
been scouring the forest to look after wild fruits. 

A good deal of pottery has been manufactured, so that 
they may have plenty of cooking-pots. Earthen jars 
have also been made in great numbers, so that vessels 
for palm wine may be abundant. The women have also 
worked steadily in making mats, so that many might be 
spread on the ground. Several boloko have been made. 
What a strange kind of arm-chair those bolokos are I 
King Obindji delights to rest upon one. A large shade 
has been built, so that Quengueza and myself will have 



PREPAMATIOXS, 109 

plenty of room, Oralas are abundant, and meat has 
been smoked in abundance during these last few days. 

At last the day of the feast has come. There is a 
great stir in the village. The hunters have all returned, 
the men have also come back from their fishing ex- 
cursion, and for the last few days a great quantity of 
palm wine has been collected. Bakalai chiefs have 
come from all the surrounding country, with a great 
number of their wives and of their people ; they are all 
scattered about over the little olakas round the village. 
After the feast a grand palaver is to come off, and the 
affairs of the country will be discussed. Friend Quen- 
gueza seems to be the King of the Kings, for they all 
show him great marks of respect. 

Toward noon the tables are set. Do not think for a 
moment that I mean real tables ; I mean the mats are 
laid on the ground. Under our shade several mats are 
put, and many are scattered under the trees round. 
Quengueza and I are to eat under the shade, the other 
chiefs under the trees. 

The drums begin to beat, wild songs are sung, and 
there is a great stir. The wives of the King have all 
turned cooks, and are all busy ; the village seems to be 
in a blaze of smoke, for every thing is cooking, and soon 
the repast is to be ready. 

All sorts of pleasant odors are coming out of these 
pots : what curious dishes some of them will be ! 

The drums are beating furiously again and again. 
Twenty of the King's wives have come out, each bring- 
ing a dish with her, which they deposit on the mats. 

Then Obindji came to Quengueza and to me, and 
bade us come and sit before what was presented to us 



1 1 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQ VA TOU. 

and tasted of every dish to show us that no food was 
poisoned, for such is the custom of the country. 

What a curious bill of fare ! I must give it to you. 
and I will try to remember it all. 

First, there was a huge pot containing an enormous 
piece of an elephant, which had been boiling since the 
day before, so that the meat might be tender. Another 
dish was the boiled smoked foot of an elephant, which 
had been specially cooked for me, this being considered 
by many the best piece. 

Then came a large piece of boiled crocodile, the broth 
of which was recommended to us, lemon juice and Cay- 
enne pepper having been bountifully mixed with it to 
give it a flavor. Then came a charming monkey, which 
had been roasted entire on a blazing fire of charcoal. 
The little fellow seemed to be nothing but a ball of fat, 
and looked wonderfully like a roasted baby. It was 
cooked to perfection, and really had a fine flavor. 

Then a huge leg of a wild boar made its appearance, 
the flavor of which was very high, and it must have been 
killed days before ; but these people like their game 
high ; in fact, it is often decomposed when eaten. 

Then came the boiled tongue of the Bos hrachicheros^ 
the wild buffalo. Another dish was boiled buffalo ribs. 
This latter had been cooked with the ndika, a kind of 
paste made from the seed of the wild mango fruit; this 
was put close to me, Quengueza never touching the buf- 
falo meat, some of his ancestors having long ago given 
birth to a buffalo (at least so he said), and his clan, the 
Abouya, never taste buffalo. 

Then came a dish of smoked mongon (otter); anoth- 
er of antelope, called kambi, and a beautiful little ga* 



Q UENO UEZA AS A 60 XTRMAND. Ill 

zelle, called ncheri. These meats had all been smoked 4 
long time. In the centre there were two huge baskets 
of plantains, which were to be used as bread. 

Do not think this is the end of the bill of fare. The 
fishes are still to come, as well as other African daintieSc 

An enormous dish of manatee was next brought in, 
which was immediately followed by another dish of 
boiled mullet. Then came some land and water turtles. 
I wondered why a boiled snake had not made its ap- 
pearance, and also some roast gorilla and chimpanzee, 
these to be surrounded by a few mice and rats. But 
these are entirely Bakalai dishes, no Com mi eating 
those animalso 

It was a sumptuous feast. Obindji was in his glory, 
and the drummers sang, " Who can give such a feast to 
the Ntangani except Obindji ? Obindji has a fetich " — 
they continued singing — "that makes the wild beasts 
come to him, the fish come to him, the white man come 
to him 1" 

Quengueza was seated on one side and I on the 
other, and round us stood the twenty wives and Obind- 
ji's slaves, to wait upon us. Quengueza, who is a great 
gourmand, took a glance at every dish before him 
and concluded that he would go into the manatee first, 
then he would follow up with some fish, and then would 
pitch into the fiit monkey, finishing up with antelope; 
and he said to me, in his bland and kind manner, that if 
there was room left he would eat some ncheri (gazelle), 
but he intended specially to go into the wild boar and 
the manatee to his heart's content. "Then," said he, 
close to my ear, "you will give me a little glass of 
brandy." 



i 12 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

I tliouglit I would taste a little of every thing, and 
bring my stomach to its utmost capacity. Though it 
was against etiquette, for Obindji could not eat with 
Quengueza, I told him we had better invite friend 
Obindji. We called the good fellow, and made him sit 
with us amid the abundant cheer round us, for all were 
as merry as they could be. 

His Bakalai Majesty was quite proud to eat with a 
fork which I presented him. 

Since Obindji was to eat with us, an addition to the 

bill of tare — a dish of boiled gorilla — came for his espe- 

Mal benefit; also a dish made of part of a large snake 

ooked in leaves, the smell of which made Obindji's 

mouth water. 

The peoplo all round us were eating. The first 
mouthful I put into my mouth caused cheer after cheer 
to go up. "The ntanga is eating! The ntanga is eat- 
ing of the elephant!" For I thought I would begin 
with King Elephant. 

It was a pretty tough piece of meat, I assure you ; 
the grain was very coarse, and the meat was somewhat 
tasteless and rather dry. The boiled elephant's foot 
was better, and I rather liked it. The elephant meat I 
did not like ; it was really too tough. 

Obindji recommended to me a bit of crocodile, and 
the wife who had cooked it said she had been very care- 
ful that there was plenty of Cayenne pepper and of 
lemon juice, and she was sure the broth was excellent. 
I must say I did not like the idea of eating of the croco- 
dile, but I wanted to know how it tasted. -The flesh 
was very white — somewhat fishy, I thought— and the 
grain of the meat coarse. I did not like either the broth 



MONKEY, BOAB, AND BUFFALO MEAT, 113 

or meat. The former was so terribly hot with Cayenne 
pepper that it tasted of nothing else. I was glad to get 
through with the crocodile. 

The monkey was perfectly delicious; I had not en- 
joyed any thing so much for a long time, despite his 
looking so much like a roasted baby. I am sure no 
venison at home could have tasted better. 

The wild boar was so terribly high that I backed out, 
but friend Quengueza thought it was exquisite ; and 
wher. he had finished eating it, he told Obindji's head- 
wife to keep what was left for him, as he intended to 
eat the whole of it. At the same time he got up as if he 
wanted to stiffen himself for more food, and then sat 
down, saying that he was ready to go on again. 

Just for fun I offered to friend Quengueza si piece 
of the tongue of the buffalo and part of his boiled rib. 
The old chief recoiled, for none of his clan (the Abouya), 
as I have said, can eat of this meat, for they have a legend 
that once one of tneir clan gave birth to such an animal ; 
and if they were to eat of it disease would creep upon 
them, they would die, and their women would give birth 
again to such a monster. Quengueza told Obindji 
that the vessels that cooked the buffalo must be broken, 
for fear that his wives might cook his food in them. 

Every clan has some kind of animal they do not eat. 

Quengueza assured me that when a boy he saw a woman 

who had given birth to a crocodile. I scarcely touched 

the buffalo meat; the otter I did not like. When 1 

came to the antelope my appetite had gone, to my great 

sorrow, for I am very fond of this dish. I finished up 

my dinner with a slice of pine-apple. I doubt very much 

if a more curious dinner could be given anywhere. 
8 



CHAPTER XV, 

''iTIE TERRIBLE BASHIKOUAY. — MARCH OF AN ANT ARMY. — 

THEY BUILD BRIDGES.— THEY ENTER HOUSES. THEIR 

HABITS. 

One day I was plodding along in the vast forest in 
search of game, and was suddenly scartled by a strange 
noise falling upon my ears. I heard the footsteps of wild 
beasts running away. I thought even tbat I saw the 
glimpse of a gorilla; I certainly heard distinctly the 
footsteps of an elephant soon after. At last I heard at a 
great distance a mighty crash as if elephants were run- 
ning at great speed through the forest, breaking every 
thinoj before them. 

What can all this mean? I asked myself; and I knew 
not why, but a vague feeling of awe began to creep over 
me. I knew that something strange must have happen- 
ed or was coming. Were we going to have an earth- 
quake ? It could not be a tornado, for v\re were in the 
(beginning of the dry season. 

Finally the insects which had begun to fly at the be- 
.'ginning of this tumult now grew thicker and thicker, 
when suddenly I was annoyed by fearful bites, and in 
dess time than I have taken to write I was covered by a 
kind of ants called by the Bakalais Bashikouay. I 
leaped and fled with the utmost haste in the same di- 
rection the insects and beasts had taken. An army of 
bashikouay ants was advancing, and devouring everj/ 



THE BASHIKOUA Y ANT. 1 1 5 

living thing in its way. I was almost crazy, for they 
were in my clothes and on my body, and often when they 
gave a bite a little piece of flesh would come out. 

When I thought I was out of reach I immediately 
took off my clothes. They had, in their fury, literally 
buried themselves in these, and their pincers were deep 
into them ; and like the fierce bull-dog of our own coun- 
try, when once they bite they never let go their hold ; 
and many and many a time their bodies were severed 
from their head as I pulled them out ; their pincers clung 
still to my flesh. 

I defy any living man to stand quiet before an army 
of bashikouay ; he would certainly be killed and devour- 
ed. This was incontestably the largest army of bashi- 
kouay I have ever seen, and how it swept over the forest, 
driving every thing before it! 

These little ants are more powerful when combined 
in such an army than any living thing in the forest 
All other animate things are put to flight before their 
march. It is only in the interior that one can have an 
idea of their number. 

I dressed myself again, and began to breathe freely, 
when lo! these bashikouay were again coming in my 
direction." So I fled, striking for a path that led to a 
stream, and at last reached the wet and swampy grounds, 
which I knew they would not care to approach if they 
continued to spread and advance in the direction I had 
taken. 

How many and how many times I have been dis- 
turbed by these ants in the forests of Africa I 

Of all the ants which inhabit the regions I have ex- 
plored, the most dreaded of all is the bashikouay ; it is 



116 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR 

very abundant, and is the most voracious creature 1 have 
ever met. It is the dread of all living animals, from the 
elephant and the leopard down to the smallest insect. 

At the end of this chapter is the drawing of an or- 
dinary bashikouay, taken by the artist from one of the 
Sur I had with me. 

No wonder that the animal and insect world flies be- 
fore them ! And now I am going to say a good deal of 
what I know about them ; if I should tell you all, the ac- 
count would appear so incredible that perhaps you would 
say it must be untrue ; but I writQ this book to instruct 
you, and to show you that the ways of Nature are won- 
derful. 

These bashikouay, so far as I have been able to ob- 
serve, do not build a nest or house of any kind; they 
wander throughout the year, and seem never to have any 
rest They are on the march day and night. I never 
saw them carry any thing away; they devour every 
thing on the spot. 

It is their habit to march through the forests in a 
long regular line, just as soldiers would do, and with 
quite as much order and regularity. The line is about 
two inches broad, and must be often several miles in 
length. All along this line are larger ants, who act as 
officers, standing outside the ranks, and keeping this 
singular army in order. These officers stand generally 
with their heads facing their subordinates. They remain 
thus until their squads have passed, and then join them, 
while others take their place. 

The number of a large army is so great that I should 
oot even dare to enter into a calculation. I have seen 
one continual line passing at good speed a particular 



c/NDERGROUND TUNNELS, 117 

place for twelve hours. It was sunrise when I saw them, 
and it was only a little before sunset that their numbers 
began to diminish. An hour before the end of the col- 
umn came, it was not so compact, and I could see that 
these were the stragglers ; and many of these stragglers 
also seemed to be of a smaller size : they were evident!}; 
tired. When I saw them in the morning I did not know 
how long since this vast army of bashikouay had begun 
their march. This was the largest column I ever saw. 
You may imagine how many millions on millions there 
must have been included in this column. I have seen 
much smaller columns on the march, but it generally re- 
quired several hours for them to pass. 

Strange as it may seem, these ants can not bear the 
beat of the sun, hence they could not be found in a 
country where the forests are scarce. If they come to a 
place where there are no trees to shelter them from 
the sun, they immediately build underground tunnels, 
through which the whole army passes in column to the 
forest beyond. These tunnels are four or five feet under- 
ground, and are only used during the heat of the day. I 
have noticed that these open spaces are often passed by 
them during the night to the forest beyond. 

I suppose that these underground tunnels must be 
numerous; I do not see how otherwise the ants could 
protect themselves against the heavy rains. I have never 
seen them lying drowned on the ground after a storm. 
Tlence they must know, when a storm is coming, how Xo 
disappear ; and generally after a heavy rain these armies 
are more numerous in the forest, for they probably come 
in quest of food, of which they have been deprived 
during their subterranean marches. They always at- 



128 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQ UA TOU. 

tack with a fury wbich passes description. Where the 
Boil is sandy, no bashikouay can be found. 

When they get hungry the long file spreads and 
Ticatters itself through the forest in a front line : how the 
order reaches from one extremity of the line to the other 
!ilmost at the same time I can not tell. Then they at- 
tack and devour all that comes within their reach with a 
fury and voracity which is quite astonishing. As I have 
said, the elephant and gorilla fly before this attack ; the 
leopard disappears from his den; the black men run 
away for their lives ; for who would dare to stand still be- 
fore such an army? In a very short time any adversary 
would be overpowered, and I am sure that in about two 
or three hours nothing would be left of the opposition. 
Antelopes which I have killed have been stripped of 
every bit of flesh in that time. At times, when they have 
spread themselves, they do not advance with rapidity, 
but seem to go in a rambling sort of a way. 

It is said that now and then a man is put to death in 
the following manner. He is tied to a tree which is in 
the path of this bashikouay army. What a terrible 
death it must be ! 

Every animal that lives on the line of march where 
they have spread is pursued, and, though instinct seems 
to indicate the forthcoming danger, many are caught. 
In an incredibly short space of time the mouse, the in- 
sect, and many small animals are overwhelmed, killed, 
eaten, and their bare skeletons only remain. If they ever 
get into a fowl-house, it is all over with the fowls. The 
insects seem to be the greatest sufferers. The ants seem 
to understand and act upon the tactics of Napoleon, and 
confjentrate with great speed their heaviest forces upon 



THE ATTACK. 121 

tbe point of attack. They must certainly anderstanc 
each other; but how, we shall never be able to know. 
Surely there must be commanders for these vast hordes 
of soldier ants, for when in a line on the march not one 
will leave the ranks, even though the insects, which they 
would devour in an instant when spread for a raid, are 
close by. It is but seldom that they are able to capture 
antelopes, for these animals run away too fast for them. 

As I have said before, they travel night and day. 
Many a time some of you who have perused my books 
may have read that I have been roused from sleep and 
obliged to rush from the hut, sometimes into the water, or 
at other times have been obliged to protect myself with 
fires, or by spreading hot ashes or boiling water around 
me. Often I have suffered terribly from their advanced 
guard, who had got into my clothes, and who would not 
get out, and soon managed to get on my body. 

When they enter a house they clear it of all living 
things. Eoaches are devoured in an instant. Eats and 
mice spring round the room in vain. An overwhelming 
force of ants kills a strong rat in less than a minute or 
two, and in an incredibly short time, despite the most 
frantic struggles, its bones are stripped. Every living 
thing in the house is devoured. Centipedes, scorpions, 
small spiders can not escape, and of this I wa? glad. 
They will not touch vegetable matter. Thus they are 
in reality very useful; for without them the insects 
\vould become so numerous that man would not be able 
to live. I always rejoiced when they got hold of a ser- 
pent, though these are pretty shy, and manage generally 
to get out of the way, except when they aie in a state of 
torpor. 



122 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

\Yheii on the march the insect world flees before them, 
and, as yon have seen in the beginning of the chapter, I 
had the approach of a bashikouaj army heralded to me 
by this means. Wherever they go they make a clean 
sweep, even ascending to the top of many small trees in 
search of birds'-nests, and to devour the young of caterpil. 
lars. They pursue their poor prej^ with an unrelenting 
fury, and seem to be animated with the genius of de- 
struction. Their manner of attack is by an impetuous 
leap. Instantly the strong pincers are fastened, and they 
only let go when the piece seized upon gives way. If 
they were large they would certainly be the most fear- 
ful creature man could ever encounter, and they would 
destrov all the livinsr creatures of the forest 

When on their line of march they often find little 
streams — which of course are not very wide; they throw 
themselves across and form a bridge, a living bridge, 
connected by two trees or high bushes on opposite sides 
of the stream. This is done with great care, and is ef- 
fected by a great number of ants, each of which clings 
with his fore-claws to his next neighbor's body or hind- 
claws. Thus they form a high, safe bridge, over which 
the whole vast regiment marches in re2:ular order. If 
disturbed, or if the bridge is broken by the violence of 
some animal, they instantly attack the offender with the 
greatest animosity. 

To find the place for these bridges must require a 
good deal of sagacity. By one way or another they find 
a spot where on each side there is a branch of a tree, al- 
most always a dead one, that has fallen on the ground, 
and which overlaps the stream. Often in falling this tree 
has broken in two pieces, and the piece on the othc^ 



VA RIO US SPECIES. 123 

side almost joins it. The branch on the further side 
must be lower on the ground, so that, as they form the 
bridge, they begin it from the higher side. 

These bashikouay do smell things a long way off, and 
they are guided by their sense of smell. They are quite 
large, often the ordinary-sized ones being half an inch 
long, and are armed with very powerful fore-legs and 
large strong jaws, or nippers, with which they bite. The 
head is almost if not quite as large as the body ; the 
large ones are almost one inch m length. The kind of 




THE BASHIKOrAY Am", MAGNlFrSD TO T^\^CE ITS NATTEAL 6IZB. 

which I have spoken is dark brown in color, but I tiave 
found in the mountains of the interior a somewhat 
larger species, almost black, and intensely voracious. 
Besides these two there is still another species of bash« 
ikouay, which I have only met two or three times in 
the mountains south of the equator. It is of a great 
size, at least double the size of the one I have just 
spoken to you about. The body is grayish-white in col- 
or, the head of reddish-black ; its fangs are very power- 



124 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQU ATOM. 

fill, and it is able to make a clean bite out of one's legs. 
It is thus a very formidable animal, but fortunately its 
motions are not as quick as those of its fierce brother ; for 
if they were, I do not know what would become of a man 
in the midst of such an army. It does not march in such 
vast armies, nor does it precipitate itself upon its prey 
with such an irresistible fury. In its motions it is almost 
sluggish. They do not invade villages, or climb trees in 
pursuit of prey, and they are not so voracious as their 
fellows before mentioned. If they were, they would 
doubtless clear the country of every living thing, for 
they are much more powerful. They are, in fact, to the 
other ants what whales are to fish. If as ferocious, they 
would depopulate the country, and would themselves 
have to starve and then disappear. 

Now I have told you about the bashikouay, and feel 
that I could tell you more ; and you may rely implicitly 
on what I have said, for what I have written is from 
very close observation. I wish this record of the bash- 
ikouay to stand. 

Some day civilization may reach Equatorial and Cen- 
tral Africa ; then the forest will give place to open fields, 
and the bashikouay ant will disappear, for it can not 
bear an open country. Such is the order of nature which 
God has created, that when a race of men or beasts has 
gone it will never come back. The mastodon, and those 
gigantic animals and reptiles which once were, have 
never reappeared. 



CHAPTER XYI. 

THE SORROWS OF THE BIRDS. — CURIOFS AFRICAN BIRDS. -^ 
THE BARBATULA DU CHAILLUI. — THE BARBATULA FULI- 
GINOSA. — THE SYCOBIUS NIGERRIMUS. 

Now I must speak to you of little birds ! 

I do love birds. They are Nature's beautiful creat- 
ares. 

They are one of God's loveliest creations. 

They cheer us in our lonely hours, when from their 
bowers their songs come upon our ears and gladden our 
hearts. Their melodies have often told me how happy 
they were, and how much one bird loved the other. 
They are the poets of nature 

Oh, little birds, I have often wondered how many sor- 
rows you have ! Pain I know you have. The shrill 
cries and plaintive notes I have often heard from you 
have told me that your little breasts felt the pangs of an- 
guish. The hurried flights which I have often watched 
have said how anxious you were. 

In our Northern climes, when the leaves have wither- 
ed, when the cold winds blow, when the snow covers the 
earth, I know that you suffer from hunger, and I feel 
so sorry for you. When you come by the window you 
seem to say — " Do feed me, for I am so hungry and so 
cold!" 

I have crossed the seas, and hundreds of miles awav 



126 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

from land I have seen you, in your forlorn flight, look- 
ing in vain for the way that might lead to a land where 
your poor little bodies and tired wings and tiny little 
feet could find rest. The storm and the winds had car- 
ried you away from the land where you were accustomed 
to rejoice and sing, and taken you above that ocean on 
which you looked with such dread, and which is always 
ready to engulf you. You were so tired that you had 
not even the strength to utter your cries. How then I 
pitied you, for I thought of the days and sleepless nights 
you had spent over the vast sea! how weary those little 
wings of yours were ! how painful must have been each 
effort you made to support you in the air. How sad 
must have been your thoughts, for you could see nothing 
to guide you to that place you longed to reach ! 

I have seen you when the good ship was close at 
hand. How welcome its sight seemed to be to you, who 
had suffered so much from thirst, hunger, and starvation, 
fatigue and exhaustion ! and, as I watched your coming, 
I could detect joy and fear; for how strange the vessel 
appeared to you, how strange its ropes, how strange its 
sails. 

When I have thought its masts and ropes would af- 
ford you rest, and seen you ready to reach them, you have 
dropped on the waves to rise no more. How you strug- 
gled before you came to this ! You almost touched the 
water, when another effort would send you flying high 
above the sea ; then again your flight became weaker ; 
gradually you came down and made another frantic ef- 
fort to escape by flight. At last you seemed not to 
know any longer what you were doing, and despite all 
your valiant struggles for life your doom came, and you 



DEA TH OF THE BIRDb\ 1 2 *? 

dropped into the waves; and as the vessel sailed away I 
left you to your sad fate. At other times you fell on 
deck, for you were not strong enough to perch. Then 
how your bright little eyes became dim, for the touch of 
death was soon to close them, despite the care and the 
little water I would give you. How sweetly you looked 
as you laid still in the embrace of death ! The storms 
of your life w^ere over, your sorrows were ended, and 
your merry songs were to be heard no more in the 
groves you used to love. I know of nothing sweeter to 
look at than a dead little bird 1 and yet there is nothing 
which more pathetically touches my heart. 

When the eagle, the hawk, and the falcon soar high in 
the sky, I know that they are your enemies. When the 
snake glides from branch to branch in search of your 
nest, to destroy your offspring, I know that pain will 
reach your heart. When you and your mate are flying 
above the earth, perchance a heartless sportsman appears, 
and withliis gun brings one of you down. How I have 
seen you follow the unfortunate one in its downward 
flight! How painful to hear were your cries; how you 
tried to arrest the fall of the poor wounded one, and 
how touching was the scene as you soared and soared 
above the body of the little victim who had fallen on the 
ground. So plaintive were your cries that they ought 
to have disarmed the ruthless hand that separated you, 
so that he would say to himself — " I will nevermore kill 
a harmless little bird, for God has given them to us to 
cheer, to enliven the nature that surrounds us." When 
night comes, and your mate does not return, how anxious 
and sad you seem to feel ! Perhaps a cruel cat, or some 
wild animal has destroyed his life. How often I have 



128 WILD LIFE UKDER THE EQUATOR. 

heard you call for the missing one, and could detect de- 
spair in the tone of your voice ! 

When the young fall from the nest I have watched 
your anxiety, and when danger threatened them I have 
seen you brace up your courage ; and how angry then you 
did look, with your little feathers all standing out as if you 
were ready for a fight ! When the storms had tumbled 
down the little nest you had built with so much trouble, 
how distressed you seemed to be, and how industrious 
you were to build another one ! So, little birdies, I found 
that, like man, you have your joys, your cares, your troub- 
les, and your sorrows. The stormy billows of life are 
also for you. I love you the more for this. I wish I 
were a poet, so that my lyre could sing songs to you, and 
I might tell you a softer tale than that which the night- 
ingale tells to us. 

Dear little birds, I thank you for all the joys you have 
given me during my wanderings. Your songs and mel- 
odies have often cheered me when wearied and lonely. 
Your plumage I have admired, and often have I exclaim- 
ed — " Little birds, how beautiful you are !" I thank you 
for the many days I have passed pleasantly while watch- 
ing you ; for I love dearly to look at you, to study 
your habits, to see how nice and loving you are. Many 
times I have said to myself, when admiring you — " Little 
birdie, do come to me, so that I may kiss thee and feel 
thy little beak upon my lips." O God, how kind to 
man thou art ! for he is able to understand thy works. 
The wonders of thy creation he can admire, so that he may 
praise thee for thy goodness. 

And now I will speak to you of some little birds of 
which we knew nothing, of little birds that had no name, 



AFMICA N BIRDS. 129 

and wandered unknown to civilized man, till he who has 
written this book saw them and brought them here. 

In a forest of Equatorial Africa, on the banks of the 
Ovenga River not far from Obindji Village, there was a 
plantation where birds came every day. There wer^ 
many curious kind of birds there, and many I had never 
seen before. The time to see them was early in the 
morning, before the sun became so hot that they had to 
retire in the forest, or in the afternoon after the sun was 
hidden by the hills. But the morning was the best time. 
The natives had no name for many of these birds. 
Among the most curious ones were the fly-catchers, the 
stranger bee-eaters, the queer crimpers, and some very 
strange woodpeckers ; while flying over them all were 
some nice little black swallows that were very pret- 
ty indeed. I remember how much I loved in the morn- 
ing to go over that plantation and watch them all, so that 
I might learn their habits and tell you something about 
them. 

Among the strangest of them all there was one that 
especially attracted my attention. As I approached the 
plantation I could hear, just on the edge of the forest, a 
noise that sounded very much as if some far-away people 
were hammering at something, or I should rather say, as 
if people were hammering at a tree. I carefully ap- 
proached the place. I am sure you could not have heard 
Tc\j steps on the ground, so carefully I approached. I 
was dressed in a dark-blue suit of cotton goods, so that 
the birds might not notice me. At last I recognized the 
noise as coming from old friends of mine. They were 
birds that were hammering at two or three dead trees in 

such earnest that none of them observed me. 
9 



130 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

It was a very pretty sight ! The country being 
nothing else than a gigantic forest, of course, wherever a 
village or plantation is made, the trees have to be cut 
down, and nearly all are cut from a height of ten or 
fifteen feet. These in the course of time become drj^ and 
after being dead a suf&cient time the wood softens, and 
becomes the object of the attack of the beautiful little 
bird I am writing about. It is really a beautiful bird, 
and was unknown before I brought it here. It has been 
named the Barhatula du Chaillui. The throat and breast 
are of a glossy blue-black color ; the head is scarlet ; a line 
of canary yellow from above the eyes surrounds the 
neck, and the back, which is black, is covered with 
canary yellow spots. Above the bill it has what might 
be termed two little brushes. 

The trunks of the trees on which they were so busily 
engaged were within a few yards of the forest. These 
birds were hard at work with their bills, pecking out 
circular openings about two inches in diameter. It was 
a tedious operation, and now and then a little bird had to 
rest, or its mate would come and take its place. Their 
little feet are constructed like those of the woodpeckers, 
to whom they are somewhat related, but their bill is 
much thicker, stronger, and shorter, hence better adapted 
to make holes in the trunks of trees. 

It was very interesting to see them holding to the 
trees, sometimes with their heads upward and sometimes 
with their heads downward. Some had just begun to 
work at the aperture, others had already made a pret- 
ty deep hole, and the end of their tail onlj- could be 
seen, while still others were working inside, r-nd theii 
bodies could not be seen at all, though now and then 



HOW THEY BUILD THEIR NESTS. 



131 



they came forth, bringing the wood thej bpt* pecked 
out. 

What difficult and patient toil ! The making of one 
of these nests requires many days. It is no easy work 
for birds a little bigger than a sparrow to peck out a cir- 
cular opening of two inches in diameter, and more than 




THE liAKl!AT0LA WORKING. 



two inches deep. This done, they dig perpendicularly 
down for about four inches. The cavity thus made is 
their nest. As the}^ are small birds, it takes them a long 
time to finish this piece of carpentering — often two or 
three weeks. There the female lays her eggs and hatches 



132 WILD LIFE UKDER THE EQ UA TOU. 

them in security, no snake or wild animal being able to 
disturb them. 

Not only do they use these nests while they are 
hatching, but also during the rainy season. How cosy 
they must feel in these places of refuge when a storm is 
raging! Nothing could be safer, or better shelter them 
from the rain. The aperture being about two inches in 
thickness before you come to the perpendicular hollow, 
of course the rain can not reach the inside. 

I have seen trees entirely perforated by them ; that is 
to say, having more than a dozen of these holes in them ; 
and thus forming what we may call a little village of 
themselves. I wonder if they had a king! These birds 
are verv shy, and the least noise will frisfhten them. 
How affectionate the pair seemed to be, how willing they 
were to help each other in their work ! 

There is also another species of Barhaiula which I 
have discovered, of a gray color, called now Barhaiula 
fuliginosa^ of the same habits, but found in greater num- 
bers. I have seen colonies of them, composed of thirty or 
forty nests, on the same tree. 

The picture given by the artist represents the birds 
workino- and makinsf their nests. 

Now I must speak to you of another bird, a very curi- 
ous one, the Sycobius nigerrimus^ which is found in almost 
if not all the regions I have explored in Equatorial Af- 
rica. The habits of this bird are most extraordinary. 
They are extremely sociable birds ; the woods or the un- 
inhabited plantations have no charm for them ; they must 
be where people live, and hence they prefer always to live 
in the neis^hborhood of a villag^e. If there are trees in the 
middle of the village they will live there, or on the trees 




AFRICAN HANGING BIEDS NESTS. 



THE S YCOBIUS XIGERRIM US. 1 3 5 

back of the huts, and not far from where the palm or 
plantain trees abound ; but man must be in sight, for they 
seem to love his societ^^ 

In some villages they are found in immense numbers, 
often there are several hundreds of nests on the same tree, 
but it depends on the size of the tree. I have seen sev- 
eral thousands of nests on a single tree, of which they take 
entire possession for years. The Stjcohii are a little lar- 
ger than sparrows, and the habits of these little twitter- 
ers are so remarkable that I never wearied of watching 
their curious ways, and very skillful and intelligent ma- 
noeuvres in nest-building or in gathering food. A native 
village would lose a great charm without them. In many 
villages of the interior, where people do not inove about, 
trees are planted specially for them, and it is considered 
an ill omen if they do not come. They make such a noise 
from morning till night that sometimes it is almost im- 
possible to hear when close to them ; the harder at work 
they are the more noise they make. 

There are two species, but both live in the same trees 
and associate indiscriminately with each other, though 
not, of course, in the same nests. The male of one species 
is entirely black, and the female a dark grn}^, while in the 
other the male is yellow, with black and 3^ellow throat. 
The eggs of the first mentioned are bluish, with black 
spots, while those of the other species are light pink, with 
dark spots. Both kinds of eggs are very beautiful. 

They are singularly industrious birds: they seem never 
to weary of work. When they have settled upon a tree 
on which to plant a colony, they labor from daylight till 
dark, day after day, with seemingly the utmost joy, fun, 
and perseverance at their very singular pendent nests. 



136 Vr/ii) LIFE UNDSB THE EQUATOR. 

The nest is round in shape, or nearly so, with a narrow 
passage for entrance and exit leading down one side and 
opening beneath. It is securely fastened to an outstretched 
twig, and I have sometimes counted in one tree more than 
two thousand of such pendent little balls, each inhabited 
by a family, male and female, of these birds ; and once I 
am sure I saw four or five thousand of these nests. This 
I saw in the Ishogo countiy, of which 1 may speak to you 
one of these days. The birds when building strip the 
leaf off* the palm, or plantain, or banana tree. They split 
the leaf into very narrow strips, not more than two or 
three lines wide, but through the whole length of the leaf 
in the palm, and the whole breadth of the leaf in the 
plantain, beginning from the rib. 

Male and female both work at gathering this material, 
and every piece is brought up to the tree. How strange- 
ly they look as they fly with them from the place where 
they took them to that where their colony is situated ! It 
seems as if they were carrying away a long, narrow rib- 
bon. The pendent twig having been chosen, the birds 
begin to turn their leaf-strips over the twig, and to inter- 
lace them below in such a way as to enable the finished 
nest to shed rain. The birds work with the greatest as- 
.siduity with both beak and feet, sometimes with the head 
up, sometimes with the head down. Often I would see one 
little fellow one minute holding by his feetand working the 
strips in with his bill, the next suspended by his bill and 
pushing all together with his feet, then adroitly slip- 
ping inside, and by pushing and working with his body, 
giving the nest a round shape. The entrance is the last 
made, and they are knowing enough to build its mouth 
down, so that the inside may be sheltered from the rains, 



TIME OF NEST BUILDINO. 137 

which lean assure you pour down in good earnest in these 
equatorial regions. A few leaves are put inside where the 
eggs are to be laid. 

Sometimes trees on which these industrious little fel- 
lows build are quite killed by the weight of so many 
nests, and by the space they occupy preventing the reg. 
ular growth of the branches. The nests are not only used 
to breed in, but also to live in, and each pair breeds sev 
eral times a year, raising two young ones in a brood. Of 
course, with such a rapid increase, they are always need 
ing new nests, so that the building process is goino- on 
almost all the time. 

The nests looked all alike to my eyes, yet each bird 
was always able to find its own. But sometimes I 
noticed a strong fellow trying with might and main to 
oust one of his weaker brethren from his home, or to 
drive him from the work he held begun ; then there was 
a downright fight for possession. 

They have a foreknowledge of the rainy season evi- 
dently, for just before this sets in they are particularly 
active in building and repairing, and at such a time the 
village where they have settled is alive with their merry 
twittering and active bustle. 

Of course, during the dry or cold season very little 
building is going on. 

I shall always have a pleasant recollection of these 
St/cobn, and no one was ever allowed to disturb them 
at Washington, where I had three or four little trees 
full of their nests. The natives like to see them round 
them, and no vjliage is thought to be perfect without 
them. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

ON THE OFOUBOU RIVER. — ELEPHANTS BATHING. — PURSUIT 
THROUGH THE SWAMP. ESCAPE OF THE ELEPHANTS. 

If jou could have visited me, you ^ould have found 
me on the banks of the Ovenga River, at the village of 
my Bakalai friend Obindji. 

Numbers of canoes, made each from the trunk of a 
single tree, are on th'. river-bank. My friend Quengueza 
is giving his orders for the comfort of Ntangani : " his 
friend Paul" is going away with him. 

We are going to leave, for there is nothing more to 
eat at friend Obindji's. Game has become scarce, ele- 
phants and gorillas have destroyed their plantations, and 
disappeared. We are too kind-hearted, however, to tell 
good Obindji that we are obliged to leave his village be- 
cause we are hungry every day. 

We are going to ascend the Ofoubou River, which is 
one of the affluents of the Ovenga, and are bound for 
the village of Njali-Coudie. This is a strange name to 
give to a town, but there are many strange Lames in this 
country. I hope you will be able to pronounce them 
according to the African standard, and that you will 
remember them. 

Obindji is on the beach, beaiing his kendo (the royai 
sceptre) and invoking the spirits of his ancestors to pro- 



THE DEPARTURE. 139 

tect his friend Quengueza, and his Ntanga (white man). 
He is covered with fetiches, and has rubbed his body 
with the chalk of the Alumbi. 

The kendo is the badge of royalty in some of these 
tribes of Africa. I will give you a description of the 
,kendo. It is a rude ball of iron, fashioned with a long 
handle, also of iron, and of the same piece. The sound 
which with us announces the vicinity of a herd of cows 
or sheep, in Africa precedes the advent of the sovereign, 
who uses the kendo only when on visits of state or on 
business of importance. 

When they wear the kendo it' is on the shoulder, and 
there is put over it the skin of a genetta, in which some 
of the Alumbi powder is kept. 

In this case friend Obindji thought it was very im- 
portant that the spirits of his ancestors should follow us. 
He wanted good wishes to precede us. Hence he said, 
he hoped we would have plenty to eat, and that I would 
kill all the game I wanted. 

Obindji was really in earnest, and jabbered away in a 
manner and with an eagerness that was laughable ; he 
had certainly plenty of faith in the powers he was in- 
voking. 

The canoes were ready, and soon friend King Quen- 
gueza gave the order for our departure. His Majesty 
was in his royal travelling costume. He had on a coat 
which I had given him, but no shirt ; he had a cravat 
round his neck, and instead of pantaloons, which, by the 
way, I had never been able to make him wear, he had 
a cloth round his waist. His bag hung over his shoul- 
der, and in this was his ogana (idol) ; there also he had 
a good supply of tobacco, his pipes, and several other 



140 WILD LIFE UXDER THE EQUATOR. 

things, among which were articles for the toilet of his 
Majesty, such as a little calabash of palm-oil to rub on 
his skin to soften it, and to give to some of his wives 
when he wished to be particularly amiabla. 

In this journey his Majesty thought he would have 
ten wives to accompany him, and to provide for his 
comfort; and though King Quengueza was, I should 
judge, at least seventy -five, the oldest among these ten 
wives could not have been more than fourteen years of 
age, and he had left a few behind still younger than 
these. 

Quengueza and I, with two of the favorite wives, in- 
cluding a Bakalai one, were in the royal canoe, at the 
head of which was a drummer. I fired a salute, and 
soon a bend of the river hid us from Obindji's view. 
The drums were beating, and all the m-en were singing. 
All the other canoes paddled in front of us except one, 
which kept in the rear. 

The starry flag floated gracefully in the royal canoe. 
Quengueza was wonderfully pleased with the flag. We 
entered the Ofoubou Eiver and fired another gun, the 
echo of which resounded from hill to hill, and started 
the roar of a gorilla, which could not have been half a 
mile distant from where we were. That fellow was cer- 
tainly a large male gorilla. 

The Ofoubou was a narrow river, but deep at that time 
of the year: trees and palm lined its banks, which it had 
overflowed, spreading its waters over the strip of lowlands 
which bounded it, and which separated it from the hills. 

ISTjali-Coudie was situated about ten miles distant from 
the banks of the Ofoubou. By-and-by the singing ceased, 
and we paddled silently along, when suddenly one of the 



A HERD OF ELEPHANTS BATEmO. 141 

canoes ahead made ns a sign to be very quiet. " What 
is going on ?" I whispered to Quengueza. Quengueza in 
a low voice replied, "I know not." Every man looked 
carefully at his gun. The canoe ahead had stopped, 
neither retreating or advancing. What could it be ? We 
pulled with the utmost care; our paddles, as they dipped 
into the water, made no noise at all, and at last we all met 

Then Adouma, the king's nephew, came and whisper- 
ed low — "Elephants are here, they are bathing in the riv- 
er. I have heard them." 

" Are you sure they are elephants ?" 

" Are they not hippopotami ?"T asked. 

" Ko," he replied, " they are elephants." 

The countenances of all the fellows brightened up ; 
the ivory tusks of the noble beast were, they thought, al- 
ready in their possession— they were selling the skin of 
the fox before having killed the animal. 

We let all our canoes pass down the stream a little 
way, in order that we might hold a grand palaver. 
Adouma, Quabi, Eapero, all Quengueza's nephews, were 
present. Querlaouen and Malaouen, the two most redoubt- 
able warriors of the Bakalai of the Ovenga, were also 
there ; these five, with Quengueza and myself, formed the 
Grand Council. 

Quenguezn, being an old man, was to remain where he 
was with all the party, while myself and the five others 
were to move in a canoe and make land near where the 
elephants were. 

Immediately the fellows covered themselves with their 
fetiches ; Querlaouen and Malaouen bled their hands, and 
then we looked carefully at our guns. Though we were 
more than one hundred men altogether, the falling of n 



142 WnJ) LIFE UNDUE THE EQUATOR 

leaf could have been heard by any one of us, the silence 
was so profound. 

The canoe that was to take us came. Adouma and 
Quabi paddled, and onward we went until we reached a 
bend of the river, and I could distinctly hear the ele- 
phants. So we thought best to land inside of the bend, 
which we did without uttering a whisper for fear of alarm- 
ing the elephants. After landing the great difficulty was 
how to gain the other side. The country was overflowed, 
it was all bog-land, yet to the elephants we must go. We 
could not possibly follow the edges of the forest that 
bordered the Ofoubou, for we should have soon found 
ourselves in twenty feet of water, and in the middle of a 
strong current. These bog-lands are always dangerous 
things on the banks of the overflowed African rivers. 

I hung my powder-flask close to my neck, and also 
my watch, in case the water should be deep, for I am not 
tall. My men took the same precaution with their bags, 
and then Malaouen took the lead. Where we landed there 
was no dry spot, and as we advanced through the woods 
we immediately found ourselves entangled in the midst 
of the roots of the trees, with the water above our waists, 
sinking knee deep into the mud, ignorant at every step 
whether the next might bring us into water up to our necks 
or above our heads. That was about as difficult a tramp 
as I ever had had in all my travels. Suddenly Quer- 
laouen's foot caught under some roots, and down he went 
into the water, gun and all. He immediately swore in 
Bakalai that somebody had bewitched him, and did not 
want him to kill an elephant. Finally we came to a place 
where the water reached my neck, I being the shortest 
of all ; so I took my watch and powder in one hand and 



WB ARE TOO LATE. 



143 



my gun in the other, raising both arms as high as I could, 
and at every moment I fully expected to go down. One 
step more and the water just reached my mouth, but hap- 
pily the next. step took me on higher ground. 

At last we succeeded in crossing the bend, and came 
in sight of the elephants, who did not observe our ap- 
proach. 

They were seven altogether. What a huge beast 
the male was ! The other six were all females, so said 
Malaouen. They were perfectly unconscious of our 




UUNTINO ELEPHAKTS. 



presence, and swam to and fro in the narrow river. Un- 
fortunately they were very far from us, being very nearly 
half a mile off, and to come to a good shooting distance 
in this awful swamp would take some time. 

Their large ears contrasted singularly with the small 
ears of their Asiatic brethren ; they were also somewhat 
smaller. Several of them had huge tusks of ivory; 



144 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

those of the bull were gigantic. Thej were bathing, and 
evidently enjoying themselves. 

We now followed with great care the banks of the 
river about ten or fifteen yards inside of them, until at 
last the water became so deep that we came to a halt. 
How sorry we felt ! I would have given much if I could 
have come near the elephants ; but as we approached 
the banks we saw the elephants leaving the river. 
What monsters they seemed ! I shouldered my long- 
range rifle, aimed at the big male, with but little hope of 
killing it, as I must have been several hundred yards off, 
I fired, heard the bullet strike one of the tusks, when the 
animals plunged into the forest, breaking down every 
thing before them. 



-<¥. 




CHAPTER XYIII. 

ITJALI-COUDIE. — AN AFRICAN TOWN. THE CHIEF. COURT- 
SHIP AND MARRIAGE IN AFRICA. BUYING A WIFE. 

QUARREL OVER THE SPOILS. 

Now, after many wanderings, I find myself in the very 
large village of Bakalai called Njali-Coudie. Often I 
wonder that I have not been murdered by these Baka- 
lai, for they are very treacherous, and life seems to them 
to be of no value. 

The village of Njali-Coudie is situated in the very 
hilly country between the Ofoubou and Ovenga Rivers. 
It was one of the largest Bakalai villages I had ever 
seen. The people were wild ; their houses were small, 
very small indeed, and built with the bark of trees. It 
was surrounded by large plantain groves and clusters 
of sugar-cane. 

The name of the chief of that strangre villaa^e was 
Mbango, and a fine savage he was. His hair and his 
beard were white. Round his waist was a piece of grass- 
cloth ; by his side hung a tremendous war-knife; and 
on each of his ankles he wore two tremendous iron 
rings. Round his neck he wore some monda fetich, 
which he thought could protect him from evil spirits and 
from being bewitched. Round him hung some charmed 
powder, preserved in the skin of a wild animal. Around 
his chest he wore a strip of leopard's skin, which his peo- 



l^Q WILD LIFE UNDUE THE EQUATOR. 

pie believed could never be pierced by spears or arrows. 
So we might say that King Mbango thought himself in- 
vulnerable. 

The people of the village were a hard set of quar. 
relsome-looking fellows. The women were not beautiful, 
indeed they were very ugly; and even King Mbango's 
head- wife was far from being a belle. She was a tall 
woman; her teeth were filed to a point; her hair was 
anointed profusely with palm-oil; her face was all tat- 
tooed; and on each side of her cheek, a little below the 
eye, there were two round spots of flesh of the size of a 
quarter of a dollar. They had succeeded in raising the 
flesh, and it must have required a good deal of skill. On 
her chest anv amount of fantastical tattooins^ could be 
seen ; even her back was not free from this ornamenta- 
tion. Such is the faithful picture of Mbango's head- 
wife, whose name I have forgotten. She wore several 
brass anklets, and also several bracelets. King Mbango 
had a score of wives besides her, but she was the first 
woman he had married; hence she was the Queen — the 
foremost of them all. Wlien Mbansro married a new 
wife, she gjive lier advice and told her how she must love 
Mbango, how she must obey him, how laboriously she 
must cultivate the soil in order to bring food to her 
husband, and how she must often fish in order to feed 
her lord well. If she does all this, the king will say, "This 
wife really loves me." But if she does not, beware ! 
If she is lazy, the lash of whips made from the hide of 
ihe hippopotamus, or of the manatee, will remind her 
of her duties, and of the love she owes to her husband. 

Do not think for a moment that women m that far-off 
country of which I speak to you choose their husbands. 



AN AFRICAN BETROTHAL. 147 

Nothing of the sort! When a girl is born among 
the Bakalai, while she is still a child she is often betroth- 
ed, and now and then she goes to the village where her 
future husband lives. Her mother or her father will 
take her there, and after a while she comes back to her 
home, and this continues until she is finally given away. 
As she grows older she visits her intended husband less 
frequently, while he, on the other hand, comes oftener to 
the village of her parents. 

You will ask me how they get betrothed or engaged. 
No ring is given. The man who comes to ask the girl 
comes first to talk the matter over. He brings a few 
presents, say a goat or a few fowls, and a few jars of 
palm wine, and places them at the feet of the girl's father. 
Then he begins a long rigmarole, and if he could he 
w^ould go as far back as Adam. At first he speaks at 
random, talking to somebody else all the time, for they 
never speak directly to the person they address. Thus 
he goes on for a couple of hours before he comes to the 
point. In the mean time the presents are still lying be- 
fore the father. The whole people of the village are 
there listening, and approving or disapproving by grunts. 
The man gets tremendously excited, and begins to hal- 
loo until he is covered with perspiration. After he 
^ has finished there is a pause. Somebody else gets up, 
and pleads sometimes for the suitor, and sometimes in 
behalf of the villagers or relatives to whom the girl be- 
longs. 

At last the father gets up, and he tries to play a 
shrewd game. He never means what he says ; he talks 
not to the suitor but to one that has come with him, for it 
is the fashion here, as I have said, never to speak directly 



148 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOB. 

to the person whom you wish to address. He seems as- 
tonished that a man is bold enough to ask his beautiful 
daughter in marriage. He sings her praises^ generally 
pockets the presents, and says he will think about it. 

After this palaver the relations on the mother's and 
the father's side are presented with the amount for which 
the girl is sold ; and when the final agreement has been 
made, the spoils are divided among the two families. 

This is the way girls are given in marriage in this part 
of the world. 

Mbango had a beautiful girl, whom be seemed to love 
dearly, and she was not betrothed. One day a fellow 
came from a neighboring village. He bad with him a 
slave to give to Mbango, several jars of palm wine^ a goat, 
some native tobacco coming from a country of the interior, 
called Ashira, and be put all these things at the feet of 
Mbango, who was seated on a stool and ready to hear him. 
After having talked a long time, he presented his slave, 
his goat, and all the presents he had brought with him to 
the King, and asked his daughter in marriage. 

Old Mbango got up and pretended to be in a furious 
rage, bat it was all sham ; he kicked and broke the jars of 
palm wine. How could a man come and presume to offer 
him only one slave for his daughter, she who was sought 
after by so many suitors? He could not believe his ears \ 
and Mbango went roaming about, brandishing his cane. 
In the mean time the poor fellow had fled in dismay, 
leaving his slave, his goat, and all his presents behind. 

Mbango's pretended anger was a humbug. He want- 
ed more presents, and appeared highly indignant. So the 
next day the suitor came back, and brought with him an- 
other slave he had kept in reserve, guessing that King 



MBANG GIVES HIS DA UQHTER IN MAMRIA GE. 149 

Mbango would not be satisfied with one. He knew well 
that it required more than one in order to marry the 
daughter of a chief, and he wanted to get his bride as 
cheap as he could. Mbango looked ^^xy stern. How 
had he dared to come with one slave only? Did he 
think his daughter was good for nothing? 

Mbango was far more gentle. He took the other slave^ 
and then said that one more would settle the bargain — 
then he could take his bride with him. 

The next day another slave came ; the man swore that 
his uncle gave the man to him, though I learned after- 
ward that he had that third slave ready, but that he 
thought that two slaves would do. The share of Mbango 
for his daughter was two slaves, and that of the relatives 
of the mother of the girl was one slave; and Mbango, 
wishing to appear generous, gave them the goat. The 
relatives on the mother's side of the girl tried to get two 
slaves out of the three ; it was a hard palaver, and lasted 
several days, but Mbango was inexorable — he must have 
two slaves for his share. 

There was no ceremony. The man took his bride with 
him, and after a few days she was to return to her father. 




CHAPTER XIX. 

THE FEAST OP NJAMBAI. — THE TALKING IDOL. — SECREl 
PROCEEDINGS. THE WOMEN AND THEIR MYSTERIES. 

The village of ISTjali-Coudid became full of strangers, 
so full indeed that many could not find shelter there, hence 
little olakos were surrounding the village everywhere. 

When I inquired the cause why so many strangers 
were in the village, I was told that the Njambai feast was 
coming. 

The first night I could not sleep, as no African feast is 
complete without shouting, drumming, singing, dancing, 
and a good deal of drinking, when the latter can be got. 
The noise was terrific ; more than one hundred tam-tams 
must have been beating. 

At last I got up and went into the street. It was 
crowded with men, women, and children. Fires and torch- 
es lighted it up, and gave a strange appearance to the sav- 
ages, who were painted in different colors. 

Seeing a great crowd, I went there, and I saw in the 
middle of the street a large wooden idol. It was a female 
figure, nearly of life size, and with cloven feet like those 
of a stag. Her eyes were of copper ; one cheek was paint- 
ed red, and the other yellow. About her neck hung a 
necklace of leopard's teeth. This idol is said to have 
great power, and the people believe that on certain occa* 



THE NJAMBAI FEAST. 151 

sions she nods her bead. She is said to talk quite fre- 
quently — ns might, indeed, be expected. She is very 
highly venerated by the people. Before her stood plan- 
tains, sugar-cane, and a piece of antelope. The people 
were dancing around her, singing most furiously and 
drumming with tremendous force. They were so much 
excited and so much in earnest that their bodies were 
bright and shiny; for the oil their skin naturally pos- 
sesses comes out so abundantly that one might have 
thought they had dipped themselves in it. The perfume 
was not particularly pleasant, but I had become accus- 
tomed to it. 

How wild the scene, how wild the men as they danced 
round! They looked almost like demons. Sometimes a 
single man would come forth and dance before the idol, 
making the most horrid contentions possible, and, speak- 
ing to her, would vanish again. This idol belonged to 
the clan of which Mbansro was the chief and had been in 
their possession as for back as they had any remembrance. 
The clan of Mbango includes half a dozen large villages 
within a circuit of thirtv miles ; hence the idol of the clan 
remains with him. But that night there was no nodding 
and no talking of the idol. The people began to be 
frightened, and their ignorant doctors were at their wits* 
end, and did not know what to do. 

On the night of the two following days there was a 
dead silence and a great darkness : no fire was allowed 
in the village, no torch could be lighted. The only 
light was mine, and that was closely shut up in my hut. 

What a strange scene ! Not a voice could be heard ; 
for he who should have dared to talk would have proba- 
bly paid with his life for his rashness. 



152 WILD LIFE UNDEB THE EQUATOB. 

Two or three times a strange feeling of awe took hold 
of me, for I stood alone in the midst of this wild peo- 
ple, and what could be wilder than these superstitioua 
scenes ? It is not wonderful that these poor weak creat- 
ures, in sight of such idols as they have, are frightened 
'3ven at themselves. 

The Mbuiti was set out in the middle of the street; 
and the people stood round her in the pitchy darkness. 
She is said to have bowed, walked about, and spoken to 
some one, expressing her pleasure at two gazelles that had 
been offered to her. She ate some of the meat — so I 
was assured — and left the rest for the people. 

Yes! they all believed the reports which I have just 
related to you. I felt very sorry that the mind of man 
could be so debased. What they asked of the idol I 
have never been able to find out ; they were unwilling 
to tell me. At any rate, they were pleased, for they 
thought the idol had spoken, had nodded, and had eaten. 

Now let us come to Njambai. Njambai is a spirit, 
a very good spirit, who protects the women. All the 
tribes I have visited believe in him or her, though with 
all the name is not the same. All the women venerate 
Njambai. This worship of the women is a kind of 
mystery, no men being admitted to the ceremonies, which 
are carried on in a house very carefully closed. This 
house was covered with dry palm and banana leaves, 
and had not even a door open to the street. To 
make all close, so as to prevent the eyes of man from 
penetrating into it, it was set against two other bouses, 
and the entrance was through one of these, so that com- 
plete darkness reigned in the house of Njambai. Mban- 
go and friend Quengueza warned me not to go to the 



MYSTERIOUS WORSHIP OF THE WOMEy. 153 

place, for the King said — " Ntanga, I myself can not go 
and have a look." 

The feast of Njambai takes place once a year. 

The women had come from all the villages round; 
they bad come for the Njambai feast. They had all 
painted their faces and bodies, were beating drums, and 
marching about the town. Now and then they would 
all go into the forest, whence I could hear their wild 
songs. From time to time they entered the Njambai- 
house, where they danced inside and outside; and one 
right they made a most outrageous noise, far greater 
than even the men had made when I came to the 
village. 

I thought it pretty hard not to be able to sleep. Aft* 
er a few days I began to feel the need of it, but I did 
not wish to go and make my camp in the woods, for I 
wanted to see the feast of Njambai. The men w^ere 
hunting all the time, and all the game they killed or 
caught they brought to the women, who offered them all 
to Njambai. 

On the second day they nearly all went off into the 
woods, and their songs were something wonderful. 
Now and then I could hear the name of Njambai. I 
noticed that in the morning a few had entered the 
Njambai-house, where they remained, keeping a myste- 
rious silence. Now my curiosity, which had been great- 
ly excited to know what took place in that secret wor- 
ship, finally overcame me. I resolved to see the inside 
of this house if I could. I fancy many of you would 
have done the same. 

I walked several times up and down the street to 
avoid suspicion. Looking round and seeing nobody, I 



154 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



went quietly by the house, and at last suddenly pushed 
aside some of the leaves that formed the walls and stuck 
my head through it. For a moment I could distinguish 
nothing in the darkness. Then I beheld three perfect- 
ly naked old hags sitting on the clay floor, with an im- 
mense bundle of greegrees or fetiches before them, which 
they seemed to be contemplating in silent adoration. 




INTERIOK OF THK NJAMUAI-HOUSE. 



I was put aback, for I expected to see no one. As 
soon as their fear and wonder had somewhat subsided, 
they set up a hideous howl of rage, and rushed out to 
call their companions in the bush. In a few minutes 
these came Tushing toward me with gesture of anger, 
and threatening me for my offense. I quickly reached 



AM BESIEGED BY THE WOMEN. 155 

my house, and, seizing my gun in one hand and my re- 
volver in the other, told them I would shoot the first 
one that came inside my door. I never saw such an in- 
furiated set. My house was surrounded by above three 
hundred angry women, every one shouting out curses at 
me ; and still they kept coming in, their number every 
moment growing greater and greater. 

King Mbango came to the rescue. I was glad of it, 
for I had never been in such a predicament before. I 
had never faced in my life an angry mob of women be- 
fore ; and here there were hundreds of them before me, 
who seemed ready to tear my eyes out of my head, or 
commit such other gentle little deeds as I certainly 
thought no female could attempt. 

Presently they went back to the Njambai-house, and 
I felt quite relieved. I had become almost deaf, and 
had wondered how I should get out of the scrape. 

At last a deputation of the women came to King 
Mbango and to Quengueza, who told the women I was 
their guest. The women did not wish to yield, but at 
last King Mbango and his male subjects came one by 
one and put their offerings 'before the women. These 
consisted of grass-cloth, knives, plates, bracelets, anklets, 
etc., etc. With these the angry women were appeased, 
and there the quarrel ended. Of course I could not 
make any further investigations into their mysteries. I 
was watched very closely, and Mbango came and im- 
plored me not to go again, saying — " The wrath of Njam- 
bai may come upon us !" 

The Njambai feast lasted about two weeks. I could 
learn very little about the spirit which they call by this 
name. It protects the women against their male enc- 



156 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



mies, avenges their wrongs, and serves them in various 
ways. 

What I have told you is all I know about it, but I 
thought it might interest you as it did me. I only hope 
that, whenever you travel, it will never happen to you 
to have several hundreds of infuriated women after you^ 
tor I can assure you that I would have rather encounter* 
ed a gorilla of the worst kind than to face them. 




CHAPTER XX. 

SICK IN A STRANGE LAND. — ADVENTURE WITH A SNAKE.— 
HOW A SQUIRREL WAS CHARMED. 

I WAS in the forest, under a large tree, very ill. I had 
been sick with a fever for some weeks, and all the medi- 
cine I had taken seemed to do me no good. Little by 
little my strength gave way. The daj^s and the nights 
seemed so long! I am sure that if 3'ou had seen me 
you would have pitied me. There I was in that great for- 
est, which was full of wild men and still wilder beasts. 
How helpless, how sad, how lonely I felt ! 

The hand of death was close upon me. Looking at my- 
self in the looking-glass, the sunken and pallid cheeks 
told how much I had suffered. My eyes grew dim, and 
I began to realize that soon my days were to be ended, 
and that t was to die in that desert place, far away from 
home and friends, and that the wild beasts of the woods 
would come and devour me. 

My bed was made of leaves, my pillow was the branch 
of a tree. Instead of blankets I had two fires, but I was 
so burning hot the greater part of the time with fever 
that I cared not for these. Close to me lay my little 
Bible, on my small and now almost empty medicine chest, 
but I could only look at it, for I could not rea'd any more ; 



158 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

there were a few books also, and a few old newspapers 
from New York. 

Over mj bed was a covering of leaves to protect me 
from the rains. 

At last I was too feeble to rise and quench my thirst 
in the little stream near where my camp was made, or to 
go there and bathe my burning head. So the kind wom- 
en got water and bathed my head. I could not eat, for I 
bad nothing. At times I thought that if I could only have 
a little piece of dry bread, how much I should relish it ! I 
could bear the plantains and the wild berries and fruits 
no longer. There were days when I felt so lonely, so 
wretched, so poor, so helpless, that the tears rolled down 
my cheeks. The days of my boyhood came back before 
me, for they had been happy days. Then, instead of a 
piece of wood, I had a soft pillow to lay my head upon ; 
then there were gentle hands that caressed me when I 
was sick. Where was that cosy little bed now ? What a 
contrast ! I thought of the friends of my youth — of little 
Luc}^, of Julia, and Laura, and Jessie. What had become 
of beautiful little Lottie, with her fair hair, and of charm- 
ing little Maggie, with her dark hair? What friends we 
had once been ! Lottie had been like a sister to me. I 
wondered if they thought sometimes of me, or if some of 
them might have gone to heaven. What had become of 
them ? I knew that, if they were by, they would take 
care of " little Paul," as they used to call me. 

I remembered the ladies that were so kind to me when 
I had no mother to care for me ; I knew that if I had 
any thing good and amiable in my nature they had 
taught it to me. 

Where were all my playmates? How we would have 



REMEMBRANCES. 159 

laughed if any one had said that little Du Chaillu would 
one day go into unknown countries, where no white man 
had been before, and there spend the best days of his life, 
and be, as his fathers of old were, a chevalier errant. 

I remembered my two tiny little black ponies which 
my father had given me, and how kind he had been to 
me, and I also remembered my good nurse Kosee. My 
heart was sore and heavy, and I could not help thinking 
of the happy days gone by; for I was but three-and- 
twenty, with the world still bright before me, when I was 
thus sick and lonely. 

The stars peered through the dark foliage of the 
forest trees. How beautiful and bright they looked, 
reminding me of the heavens whither our spirits go! I 
thought of my mother, and where she might be, and 
wondered if she could see me as I lay alone in that dark 
forest under the big tree. I remember how I said. Oh, 
my mother, my heart is sore and weary, I want to come 
to thee ! 

Such were often my thoughts when lying so ill under 
the bisr tree. I knew not if I should see the morrow. 

o 

So I prayed God to care for me. 

One da}^, after feeling so sad, I went to sleep ; when I 
awoke my Bakalai men had returned from the hunt and 
were watching over me, and I felt relieved. God had 
taken care of me. Days went by, and I regained slowly 
m}'' strength ; my men went out hunting and brought me 
game, the women of the country went out fishing and 
brought me fish, the people brought me food. None of 
them wanted their Ntangani to die. They were all kind 
to me in that far country where they might have killed 
and plundered me. 



160 WILD LIFE VNDER THE EqiTATOB. 

I shall always remember Quengueza. I do love old 
Quengueza; nor shall I ever forget old Anguilai, the 
Bakalai chief who, when I was so ill, gave the only goat 
he had for me to eat, to make me strong, he said. It was 
the goat that he had laid by for a wife. 

Good Obindji was not behindhand in kindness, and I 
shall never forget friends Querlaouen and Malaouen, and 
I often hope that we may meet again. I wish they 
could know that I often think of them, and that I have 
a heart full of gratitude for all their kindness to me. 

I began now to get stronger and stronger, and was 
soon able to go about with my gun. How glad I was to 
be again able to shoot gorillas, and make collections of 
curious animals and birds to bring with me to New York 
and show them to my friends and tell them how hard I 
had worked to collect them! 

I shall never forget that, one day as I lay ill under 
that big tree, I spied an enormous snake folded among 
the branches of another tree not far off from me. My 
attention had been drawn to that tree by the cries of a 
squirrel. I wished some of my men had been with me 
to kill it, so that I might have something nice to eat, 
though I was not very hungry ; but there was no man 
with me, only three women who were taking care of me. 
I was not strong enough to take my gun. I was so weak 
that I did not mind having the snake so close to me. 

I will tell you what that squirrel and that snake were 
doing. 

The snake was charming the poor little squirrel. How 
nice the squirrel was! how beautiful his little tail! how 
black and bright seemed his little eyes ! His little feet 
were moving onward toward the snake ; his little tail was 



TUE SNAKE AND TUE SQUIRREL. 



161 



up, and he chippered as he advanced toward certain 
death. 

The snake was still as death, not one of his folds could 
have been seen moving. How black and shiny the ugly 
creature w^as, and what a contrast with the green leaves 
of the trees! Part of his body was coiled on a limb of 




OHAUMING TIIK 8QU1UKEL. 



the tree. How fixedly he looked at the squirrel! His 
head was triangular, and he belonged to that family of 
snakes that spend the greatest portion of their time on 
trees. This was of a very venomous kind. I wished T 
had been strong enough to take my gun and kill the ser- 
pent, and so save the life of the little squirrel. 



162 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EqUATOR. 



Nearer and nearer the squirrel came ; louder and loud- 
er were bis chipperings ; he tried to run away, but could 
not. At last he came within a foot of the snake. There 
was a pause ; then suddenly, like a flash of lightning, the 
snake sprung : the poor little squirrel was in the folds of 
the ugly reptile, and soon I saw his body gradually disap° 
pearing into its inflated mouth, and the broken silence of 
the forest resumed its sway. 





CHAPTER XXI. 

WITCHCRAFT. — ACCUSATION OP PEND:6. — RESULT OF HI9 

TRIAL. 

War is looming on the banks of the Ovenga. Witch- 
craft is at the bottom of the trouble. The Bakalais have 
met from every vale and from every hill, and chiefs and 
elders and warriors have come to ask for the head of Pen- 
de. I am alone of all my race in this turmoil. 

Pende was a younger brother of King Obindji, and was 
himself the chief of a village. Pende was disliked by 
every body. The fearful accusation which the Bakalais 
brought against him was this. Pende was said to have 
stolen the bones of dead persons in the forest and to have 
made a fetich with them, which fetich was to keep trade 
away from a particular village. Pende was an aniemha 
(a wizard) ; for who ever heard of men who went and stole 
human bones and kept them, that were not sorcerers? 
Pende's ways were strange and mysterious. People could 
not understand them, and he must be killed. Obindji 
being the eldest brother, they called on him to issue au 
order for the killing of Pende. 

Obindji must give up his brother. Quengueza be- 
ing in the country, the discussion took place before him. 
I and Quengueza stood on two stools in the midst of the 
two opposite camps. One camp demanded Pende's life, 



164 WILD LIFE VNDER THE EQUATOR. 

while the people of the other said Pende was not guihy 
of what he had been accused. Hence these latter were 
unwilling to deliver him to be killed. 

With the exception of Quengueza, every man there 
was armed to the teeth. They were all covered with 
fetiches and war-charms; they were painted in all sorts 
of fantastic colors. How ugly many of them looked! 
how devilish, how blood-thirsty many of them seemed to 
be ! O God, how kind thou art! Thou makest the rain 
fall on the evil, and on the good ; thou makest the dew 
of heaven fall on the poisonous plant, and on the plant 
that feedeth man. Still, in despite of the blood-thirsti- 
ness of these people ; in despite of their superstitions ^nd 
horrid customs, now and then the better nature of man 
would get possession of them, and their hearts were sus- 
ceptible of better feelings. 

So a man of the name of Mashamamai came forward, 
he was thin and wiry, tall and slender; his features were 
sharp, his eyes sunken, his cheeks somewhat prominent, 
and his filed teeth showed themselves every time he open- 
ed his mouth to speak. His body was tattooed all over; 
he wore round the w^aist a leopard's belt, which he himself 
bad entrapped and killed, a necklace of leopard's and go- 
rilla's teeth ; on his side hung a huge war-knife. His 
eyebrows were painted yellow ; on his forehead there 
was a broad white mark, while one of his cheeks was 
painted red, and the other yellow. He certainly had suc- 
ceeded in his attempt to look horrid. 

He began in a hollow, sonorous voice, and said— 

" Bakali, people among us have been dying. Where 
is Aqualai? he is gone. Where is Anguilai ? he is gone. 
Where are Djali and Eatenou, our great hunters? they 



A ecus A TION OF PENDA 1 6 7 

are gone. Where is Olenda? Where are the people of 
our once large clan ? They have all gone, to come no 
more to us. How is this? For they were well before 
death got hold of them, and they could not have died un- 
less people had bewitched them. Where are our worn 
en who once danced and sang for us, who went on oui 
plantations, who gave us food, who went fishing and gave 
us fish, and who bore children to us ? They, too, have 
gone. The forest is full of dead men's bones. How 
could this be, unless we have sorcerers among us?" 

The whole crowd of the two camps shouted with one ac- 
cord, ^' How could men die unless they are bewitched ?'* 
The dread of death was on the face of all ; their eyes be- 
came wild, and they sought revenge, for none of them 
wanted to die. " There would be no death without aniem- 
ba,^^ they all shouted; "without amevfiba there would be 
no sickness." A little more, and the frenzied crowd of 
the two camps would have rushed forward and cut poor 
Pendd to pieces. The speaker who was speaking was 
considered one of their most powerful orators. He went 
on to say that he had had a dream — many others had the 
same dream — it was that Pende had gone into the woods 
and stolen men's bones. Yes, he was sure of it, for his 
dreams could not lie. They all shouted on the accuser's 
side, " Our dreams can not lie ! They must be true. It 
must be so. Pende has gone into the forest, and stolen 
men's bones to make a monda fetich to kill us, and to 
prevent trade from coming to us." Then a dead silence 
followed. Pende came forward, and in a loud voice said, 
" No, I have never done such a thing — I am not a wizard. 
I will drink the mhoundou if I am accused of being one." 
He was sure he was not one — he would not die, and he 



168 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

would make them give him plenty of slaves for having 
insulted him. He had never taken in his hands any hu= 
man bones. There were wizards, but he was not one of 
them. He wanted them to live long — he wanted them 
to kill plenty of elephants, to marry plenty of wives, to 
have plenty of children, and a great number of slaves; 
he was not jealous of them. Their dreams were false. 
He could never wish such evil things upon them. On 
the contrary, somebody was jealous of him, and wanted 
the people to kill him, so that they might divide his wives 
and slaves, and take his spear and his gun. 

Pende's speech produced a good effect, especially as 
he was backed by a strong force. All the time he ad- 
dressed himself to King Quengueza, who was seated, se- 
date and stately, and at whose side stood his (organa) idol. 
I was listening in wonder, astonished at this strange spec- 
tacle. Quengueza got up, and in a short time the palaver 
was over, and, in order to have peace, Pende had to give 
away three slaves to the three chief accusers. But Pende 
was suspected of being a wizard, and when once the sus- 
picion of being such an awful evil being takes possession 
of the people, it never wears out of their minds. So, a 
short time after, poor Pende was again accused of witch- 
craft — of having bewitched a man who had died. Obindji 
himself got afraid of his brother, and Pende was killed, 
and his bod\^ was thrown in the river, after having been 
cut into more than a hundred pieces. 



CHAPTER XXTI. 

GORILLA HUNTING. — PREPARATIONS. — WE KILL A MALE GO- 
RILLA. — BRINGING HIM TO CAMP. 

We are merry. Our camp has been built; we are in 
a country where elephants, gorillas, leopards, and wild 
boars are abundant. There are also antelopes and ga- 
zelles, and other wild animals. 

We are seated round the fire and talking of to-mor- 
row, for we are going hunting. 

We are far away from any village of the Ashankolo 
Mountains, and are near the Ovenga River. Our little ca- 
noe that took us there we have hidden in the forest. We 
are not very far from the land called Kanga Niare. 

There was Malaouen, the Bakalai hunter ; there was 
Querlaouen, another savage who knew not what fear was. 
There was Gambo, the son of an Ashira chief, who was not 
behind any one in courage. Elephants, gorillas, and leop- 
ards had been killed by him, and he was the nimblest fellow 
I ever saw. To each I had given a present of a nice 
gun, to each I had given also a keg of powder and sev- 
eral flints. We were all very good friends, every body 
said so in the country. They were, they said, the good 
friends of the spirit. 

Before we had started their wives had loaded our ca- 
noe with provisions. They had put sugar-cane in it for 
me, saying I must eat it on my return from the chase 



1 70 WILD LIFE UNBEH THE EQUATOM. 

when I should feel tired. We had two little Bakalai 
boys to take care of our camp, to fetch fire-wood, and to 
cook our food. The only fear we had was that the Bak- 
alai of the interior might come upon us on the sly and 
shoot some of us, but then we were far away from them. 
We all swore that if any one of us was killed we would 
avenge him. 

The night came, the fires were kept bright, our meal 
of plantain was cooked, and I roasted on charcoal a piece 
of wild boar which friend Querlaouen had given me. Our 
guns were as clean and bright as buttons, the powder was 
safe, the bullets were right, and we were to have a jolly 
time. I went to sleep, and dreamed of whole herds of 
elephants being slaughtered, of gigantic gorillas being 
killed, of new animals being discovered. 

Before daylight we were awake; my men cut their 
hands and made them bleed, in order, they said, to steady 
them. They also covered themselves with fetiches, to be 
protected from the evil spirits and to have luck in the 
chase. 

I blackened my face and hands with charcoal mixed 
with oil, so that I might look like them. We looked at 
our guns, unloaded them, and then reloaded, and saw ev- 
ery thing was right. It was daylight when we started, 
and for the first day it was agreed that we should go go- 
rilla hunting. 

We had come to a country where we knew that go- 
rillas were sure to be found, for there grew a pulpy pear- 
shaped fruit the tonda, of which the animal is very fond. 
It grows almost upon a level with the ground, and is of a 
splendid red color. Not only were gorillas fond of the 
tonda, but I myself liked it very much, as did also the ne* 



ON THE TRAIL. 171 

groes. I am very fond of the subdued and grateful acid 
of this fruit. The kind that grows on the sandy praiiies 
of the sea-shore is not fit to eat. Many and many times 
I Would have starved in the forest without the tonda. 

We were not mistaken, for we found everywhere go- 
rilla marks, and now and then we could see the huge 
foot-prints of some old monster, which probably would 
have come and offered us battle if he had been near at 
hand ; at other places we saw where they had seated 
themselves and been eating the tonda. At another place 
near a little stream we discovered that a female gorilla 
and her baby had been drinking, for I could see the tiny 
feet of the little one. 

" There must be gorillas not far off," whispered Ma- 
laouen into my ears, and at the same time he looked care- 
fully at his gun. Querlaouen and Gambo gave a chuckle, 
and looked at Malaouen and at me. We all listened in 
silence ; we were then in one of the thickest and densest 
parts of the forest; all was apparently still, but the quick 
ear of Malaouen had detected something, had heard a 
noise, and he wanted to know the cause of it. 

We were so excited that our breathing was loud and 
distinctly audible. We were all close together and did 
not move. We at once cocked our guns, for we heard 
the moving of branches just ahead of us, when lo ! the 
forest resounded with the terrific roar of the gorilla which 
made the very earth fairly shake under our feet. As 
soon as the gorilla saw us he stood up, and beat his chest 
with his powerful hands until it resounded like an im- 
mense bass drum. His intensely black face was some- 
thing horrid to behold ; his sunken deep gray eyes look- 
ed like the eyes of a demon, and he opened his mouth 



172 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOH. 

and gave vent to roar after roar, showing his powerful 
canine teeth. How big they were ! they were frightful 
to look upon ; the inside of his mouth was so red. 

It was a male gorilla, a real fighting fellow, and was 
not afraid of us. How horrid he looked as the hair on 
the top of his head twitched up and down, and as he 
made the woods ring with his awful roar until the forest 
was full of the din ! 

We stood in silence, gun in hand, and I was ready to 
fire, when Malaouen, who is a cool fellow, said, " Not yet" 
The monster, according to them; was not near enough. 
He stopped for a minute or so, and then seated himself, 
for his legs did not seem well adapted to support his 
huge body. The gorilla looked at us with his evil gray 
eyes, then beat his breast with his long, powerful, and 
gigantic arms, giving another howl of defiance. How 
awful was that howl I He then advanced upon us. 
Now he stopped, and, though not far off, they all said, 
"Not yet." I must own to having been somewhat ac- 
customed to see gorillas. I was terribly excited, for I al- 
ways felt that, if the animal was not killed, some, one of 
us would be killed. 

I now judged he was not more than ten or twelve 
yards from us, and I could see plainly the ferocious and 
fiendish face of the monstrous ape. It was working with 
rage; his huge teeth were ground against each other, so 
that we could hear the sound ; the skin of the forehead 
was moved rapidly back and forth, bringing a truly dev- 
ilish expression upon the hideous face; then once more 
he opened his mouth and gav^- a roar which seemed to 
shake the woods like thunder, and, looking us in the 
eyes and beating his breast, aavanced again. This time 



A MALE GORILLA KILLED. 



173 



he was within eight yards from iis before he stopped 
again. My breath was growing short with excitement 
as I watched the huge beast. Malaouen said "Steady," 
as hs came up. When he stopped, Malaouen said "'Now ;" 
and before he could utter the roar for which he was 
opening his mouth, three musket balls were in his body. 
and he fell dead almost without a struggle. Gambo had 




DEATH OF A MALE GOEILLA. 



not fired; he had kept his gun in reserve in case of 
accident. "Do not fire too soon. If you do not kill 
him he will kill you," said friend Malaouen to me — a 
piece of advice which I found afterward to be literally true. 
It was a huge beast, and a very old one indeed. GorillaR 
vary in hei^jbt like men. This one was over 5 feet 6 



174 WILD LIFE UKDUH THE EQUATOIt. 

inches. Its arms spread out 7 feet and 2 inches. Its 
bare, huge, brawny chest measured 50 inches round ; and 
the big toe or thumb of its foot measured nearly 6 inches 
in circumference. Its arm seemed only like an immense 
bunch of muscle, and its legs and claw-like feet were so 
well fitted for grabbing and holding on that I did not 
wonder that the negroes believed that this animal conceal- 
ed itself in trees, and pulled up with his foot any living 
thing, leopard, ox, or man, that passed beneath. There 
is no doubt that the gorilla could do this, but that he 
does, I do not believe. They are ferocious and mis- 
chievous, but not carnivorous. 

Though you see by the description I have given you 
that the animal is large, I have killed others much larger, 
about one of which I will speak to you. 

The face of this gorilla was entirely black. The vast 
chest, which proved his great power, was bare, and cov- 
ered with a parchment-like skin. Its body was covered 
with gray hair, the hair being longer on the arms. 

Though there is much dissimilarity between this ani- 
mal and man, I never kill one without having a sickening 
realization of the horrid human likeness of the beast. 
This was particularly the case to-day when the animal 
approached us in its fierce way, and walking on its hind- 
legs and looking us boldly in the fjice, seemed to me like 
an incarnate fiend. 

I stuffed and preserved its skin and skeleton, and a 
few years ago many of you saw them in New York or 
Boston. 

I was delighted that we had killed a gorilla. We had 
the greatest trouble in bringing the beast to the camp. 
We had to disembowel him on account of his weight, in 



BMINOIXO HIM TO CAMP. 175 

order to carry him. We cut a long pole, and then tied its 
body on it. Then at one end there was Querlaouen, and 
at the other Gambo and Malaouen, while I took the lead, 
and so we returned by the way we had come. That 
gorilla must have weighed between three and four hun- 
dred pounds. 

You might ask how we could find our way back in 
this immense forest, where the trees are so thick and 
close together. I will tell you. 

As we advanced, we bent down or broke the boughs 
of trees which we passed. If afraid of making a noise, 
we quietly took the leaves, and as we went on we spread 
them on the ground, but above all we noticed every thing, 
especially the trees, and it is wonderful how quick one 
acquires this habit of observation. Yet, despite all this,' 
now and then people get lost, but it is generally because 
they have not been careful enough, and have not followed 
the rules of which I have told you. 

On the hunting grounds the Bakalai seemed to know 
every inch of ground, every tree and shrub. 

At last we reached the camp. How glad we were ! 
It was almost dark, and we were very tired ; the two boys 
welcomed us and cooked our evening meal. Tremen- 
dous fires were lighted, and my three fellows laid flat on 
the ground, the soles of their feet almost touching the 
fire. It is wonderful how by doing this they rest them, 
and cure the soreness which a long march occasions. 

I do not know how, but we all fell asleep without 
knowing it, leaving the boys to keep watch ; and when 
I awoke during the night Gambo was snoring in a most 
fearful manner, Malaouen had almost his back in the fire 
and did not feel it, while the position of Querlaouen was 



176 



WILD LIFE UNDEM THE EQUATOR. 



something laughable, his arms being extended their full 
length ; for he lay on his back, while his big fetich was 
resting on the middle of his chest ; his gun lay by his 
side, and one of his knees was up, while the other limb 
was stretched out to its full length. All three carried on 
a little snoring musical concert, but that evening Gambo 
certainly carried off the palm for noise. I did not want 
to awake the good fellows, for they had worked hard, and 
we intended to have another tremendous hunt, for we 
designed to kill a leopard if possible. I told the boys to 
go to sleep, and I myself kept watch. It was soon four 
o'clock in the morning, and the singing of the gray par- 
tridge, a new species which I discovered, soon warned 
me that another day was about to begin. 




CHAPTER XXIII. 

SN THE BUFFALO COUNTRY. — THE PARADISE OF FLIES,— 
THE VARIOUS SPECIES. 

Now, though we have not left our hunting grounds 
of the preceding chapter, we have moved toward the 
Ovenga River, and have built our camp not far from its 
shore. We are now really in the heart of Kanga-Niare, 
the name which Quengueza people give to the land. 
Niare means buffalo, but I have forgotten the meaning 
of Kanga. 

We have changed our camp, for Malaouen was fearful 
that some of our guns might have been heard by the 
warlike Bakalais of the Ashankolo ; and as their clans 
had had some trouble with them, he was afraid that they 
might come in ambush and shoot some of us. This, of 
course, was not a very pleasant prospect. These Baka- 
lai are so treacherous that they are capable of any thing; 
they kill without warning any one that comes in their 
way, whatever they may be, even women, children or 
old men. 

As we worked hard all day we could not keep watch 
all night, so we had concluded to move. 

Our little camp is pleasantly situated on the edge of 

the forest in front of a beautiful little prairie. There 

are several of these, and rambling about I saw that traces 

of wild buffaloes were abundant. I had not tasted buf- 

12 



178 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

falo for a long time, and I thought it would be a nice 
thinsf if I could kill one. 

Querlaouen, Gambo, and Malaouen had been feasting 
on gorilla meat, though I had not. Not onlj had they 
feasted on it, but they had smoked a good deal of it to 
take back with them. 

The first day we kept quiet. The soil was sandy, 
the grass was very luxuriant, growing at least two feet 
high. The sun is very oppressive in these clear spots or 
little prairies. We were tormented terribly by flies; 
the country of the Ovenga seems to be the paradise of 
flies. During the day they often wear a man's life out. 
Th^j^ sting you, they suck your blood, and they plague 
you beyond expression. 

As for musquitoes, they were swarming at this time 
of the year, and I would defy any one to sleep at night 
without musquito-nets, unless his skin were bullet proof, 
or as hard as the skin of an elephant or hippopotamus ; 
and as mine was not, I always carried with me a net 
made of the grass cloth of the interior. 

Three of these day-flies might have almost been call 
ed the three plagues; in fact, in these parts there was al- 
waj^s some kind of insect to annoy one. 

Early in the morning, just at sunrise, the igooguai 
makes its appearance and only disappears when the sun 
becomes too warm, as it does toward nine or ten o'clock. 
The igooguai is a small, almost imperceptible gnat, which 
appears in incredible numbers in the morning in certain 
regions. From ten o'clock it is seen no more till four, 
when its operations are recommenced, and last till sunset. 

It is a very, very small fly, which can hardly be 
noticed ; it might be called a sand-flj^, and a dreadful 



THE IGOOOUAI GNAT. 1V9 

little creature it is. In some regions it is found in such 
great numbers that it is almost impossible to secure quiet 
in the morning, hence the people have to surround them- 
selves with smoke to drive them away ; and one must re- 
main in his hut, which must be filled entirely with 
smoke, in order to be free from them. If I stood still 
outside for a while, my face and hands were covered 
with them. After they have fed themselves their bodies 
become almost of a blood color. You have hardly kill- 
ed one hundred on your hand or face, when a few min- 
utes after the same number is found. Of course you can 
not kill them one by one, so the only way is to pass 
your hand right over them all on your face. My un- 
protected skin was covered then with little red spots as 
if I had the measles. 

I really can not tell you how these igooguai troub- 
led me; sometimes they almost made me crazy. They 
are most determined blood-suckers, leaving a bite which 
itches terribly and for a considerable time. They are 
only found in open places generally. 

The heat of the sun had hardly driven the igooguai 
out of the field and obliged them to take shelter in the 
forest or somewhere else (for during the heat of the day 
they do not trouble any one), than the flies — which we 
might call the three plagues — tho ihoco^ the nchoiina, and 
the ibolaij began to make their appearance. These are 
quiet in the morning, and remain so until the sun has 
warmed the atmosphere, then they begin to buzz around 
the people; hence, as you see, there was no peace for 
poor me. I had hardly got rid of one kind of the igoo- 
guai when I got into the hands of these thre^^ other suck- 
ers by way of a change. 



180 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOM. 

In certain regions, from eleven o'clock till three, I cer 
tainly thought I should lose my senses, especially when 
living on the banks of rivers. The most dreaded of all, 
and the most savage of these three species of flies, is the 
iboco. I shall never forget the iboco as long as I live 
I have been stung too many times by them to forget it. 
A hot day, and under a powerful sun, these insects attack- 
ed us with a terrible persistency that left us no peace. 

The iboco is a large fly of the size of a hornet, with 
yellow body and a large green head ; it flies with a won- 
derful rapidity ; and when it wants to rest on somebody 
it whirls round and round so rapidly that the eyes become 
quite bewildered, and in the wink of an eye they rest on 
the bare back of some poor negro, and give a sting which 
draws often from him a cry of anguish. There is always 
great rejoicing when an iboco is killed. They are very 
plentiful in the regions of the Ovenga River ; indeed, I 
have never seen them in such great numbers anywhere 
else. They like to be by the water and in open places. 
I have never seen them except in the clearings. 

Many and many times have I started as if stung by 
a scorpion or centipede, when it was nothing but an ibo- 
co, whose bill had gone through two or three of my gar- 
ments. Their bite is quite as painfu^ as that of a scor- 
pion, but happily it is not venomous, and the pain does not 
last long ; but its sharpness makes up for the shortness of 
its duration. Often the blood has run down my face or 
arm, from their savage attacks, and even the well-tanned 
skin of the negroes is punctured till it bleeds, so that one 
would almost think that a leech had been at w^ork on 
them. 

The nchouna has auite another sort of tactics. It is 



THE NCHOUNA. 181 

not so large as the iboco, is far more sly, and is also 
found in greater numbers. If the iboco were aa numer- 
ous as the nchouna, the people would surely not be able 
to live in the regions of the Ovenga. The nchouna is 
somewhat of the shape of our common flies, but- of ai; 
least twice the size ; it is of a yellowish color, and per- 
haps more elongated, resembling very much the tsttclie of 
Southern Africa, of which species it may be a variety. 

As one is seated, he sees several nchounas flying in a 
quiet way round about him. They are very sly, and the 
least movement one makes sends them off. As they fly 
around one they do not appear as if intent upon an at- 
tack, but before you know it the fly has come, and in such 
a gentle way that you do not notice it at all, for they in- 
sert their bill very gently into your body. They will 
stay until they have sucked your blood and filled them- 
selves with it, and generally I never knew of their attack 
till I felt the itch which follows the bite when the fly has 
gone. Then this is followed by a little painful swelling. 
The itching begins, and lasts often for several hours, espe- 
cially if the fly has been disturbed before its full allow- 
ance has been taken. In the height of the rainy season 
in the country of the Ovenga no day passed without my 
being bitten several times by the nchouna. 

The negroes usually have a little broom, made of the 
stem of the leaves of certain trees, to keep off this insect; 
often the tail of an elephant is used for the same purpose. 

The third species, I remember well, is called ibolai. It 
13 an insect twice ns large as our common house-fly. The 
wings cross each other. This fly is black, more elongated 
than ihe nchouna, and quicker on the wing; its sting is 
long, and strong enough to pierce the thickest clothes one 



182 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

can wear in the heat of an African summer. The sting 
is so terribly sharp that I have often jumped up with the 
sudden pain, which was as if a pin had been stuck sav- 
agely into my person ; but the bite of this insect, if pain- 
ful, does not last like that of the nchouna. You need not 
think for a moment that the day is over with the flies, 
and that one is going to rest. Toward four o'clock, when 
the sun begins to go down and lays hidden back of the 
hills, the iboco, nchouna, and ibolai disappear. The igoo- 
guaiy as I have said before, makes again its appearance 
to plague and annoy; toward sunset they retire for parts 
unknown to me, and several varieties of musquitoes make 
their appearance to remind man that he is made of flesh 
and blood. In some parts of the country they are very 
plentiful, and absolutely terrible, but I am happy to say 
that on the banks of the Ovenga, where the flies I have 
described to you are very abundant, the musquitoes are 
not so very numerous. The rainy season is the time 
when all those flies are most abundant; the dry season is 
almost free from them, and in many places they then be- 
come almost unknown. 

Such is, I assure you, a faithful picture of the flies of 
that region. The best way to get rid of them is to keep 
in motion. If you stand still they are sure to come upon 
you. 

You will ask yourselves, How can people live in such 
a country ? It is wonderful how one gets accustomed to 
snakes, ants, flies, musquitoes, scorpions, and centipedes 
To be sure, they are not pleasant companions. 



»HBKt^^H|^^^^^^^^^^t^^^^^^aB^Tr]MH 



CHAPTER XXIY. 

ELEPHANT PITS. — A CAPTIVE. DIVIDING THE MEAT. THB 

ALETHE CASTANEA. 

QuERLAOUEN, Malaouen, and their wives and children, 
and all their families, which amounted to about forty peo- 
ple, had worked hard at digging elephant pits, of the same 
shape as those I have described to you in " Stories of 
the Gorilla Country," and which I saw in the cannibal 
country. The pits had been covered with branches of 
trees, while others were not for elephants to fall into. Oft- 
en when they roaixi at night, before they know it, down 
they are. A great work it must have been to dig them ; 
they were about fifteen feet deep, perfectly perpendicular, 
and about eight or ten feet in length and six feet broad. 

Hanous had also been fixed, such as I have described 
to you while among the cannibals, in a preceding volume. 
These were about ten or fifteen feet long ; and at a dis- 
tance of about afoot apart there were huge sharp-pointed 
iron spikes about six or eight inches in length. Each of 
these hanous must have weighed several hundred pounds ; 
and as they fell from a great height, the weight falling on 
an elephant's spine must be very great, and more than 
sufficient to break it. 

So, passing through these tangled forests, we had to be 
very careful, in order not to fall into pits or to have a 



184 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR 

hanous fall upon our heads ; for in that case you would 
never have heard from me again. Malaouen knew exact- 
ly where these pits were. 

We were going through the forest with the greatest 
care, thinking that we might meet gorillas, among which 
might be one of those lone fierce males. 

Suddenly we heard a noise in the distance. We list- 
ened. What could it be ? Malaouen's quick ear soon 
detected that an elephant had been caught either by a 
hanou, or that he had fallen into the pit. We listened, 
to make sure of the direction the" noise came from. We 
looked most carefully at our guns, to make sure that we 
could fully depend upon them, and then set out for the 
place where we suspected the huge beast was lying pros- 
trate. 

As we approached the spot, the moans of the elephant 
became louder and louder, and we at last fell into its track, 
which we followed, our direction being thus clearly indi- 
cated. At length we came to the pit. How careful we 
were in approaching it, and what a sight met our eyes ! 
I came trembling on its brink, for fear that the earth 
would give way and precipitate me into the pit where 
the poor elephant was. What a sight met my eyes as I 
looked down ! The bottom of the pit was filled with a 
black mass, which I recognized to be an elephant; the 
earth around was saturated with its blood. The poor 
creature was not dead. In its fall its ponderous weight 
had broken its four legs, and one of its magnificent tusks 
had been dashed to pieces ; its head was all bleeding, and 
its trunk now and then moved up and down. The ago- 
nies of the poor creature were great. I was glad that we 
had come to end the sufferings of the poor beast. 



THE GOOD NEWS. 185 

So we raised our guns and fired right into its ear. 
Malaouen's gun gave a fearful recoil that almost knocked 
him down. I thought it had burst. All became silent. 
The elephant's ears and trunk dropped down, there was 
no more moaning ; death had done its work. 

Like almost all the people of his tribe, he carried an 
axe with him ; a creeper was cut down, and tied to a tree 
near by to serve as a ladder, and Malaouen dropped down 
into the pit. He had thrown his axe first and then descend- 
ed ; and as he stood on the elephant, how small he looked 
by the size of the huge beast I Then he cut the end of his 
tail, which is made of very coarse and very dark bristly 
hair ending in a tuft, and came up again. Joy filled his 
heart as we set out for the camp, and next for the village. 

As soon as the news spread, we were received with 
wild demonstrations of joy. They were going to have a 
nice time. They were going to have plenty of elephant 
meat to eat. The children were also glad. I can assure 
you that a big elephant forms a large mass of flesh, and 
would help to pretty well fill a butcher shop. Then the 
news came that in a neighboring village, not far from 
ours, three elephants had been killed. I was quite aston- 
ished, for the animals are not plentiful in the region I was 
in ; but I was obliged to believe the report when I saw 
the three new freshly-cut tails of the elephants. One was 
given to me afterward, and a splendid thing it was to kill 
the nchouna, the ibolai, and the iboco flies. 

I just came into the town when the ceremonial dance 
was about to be performed which precedes the division 
of the elephant meat. This is a thank-offering to two 
spirits, Mondo and OlombOj who seem to have a presiding 
influence over the hunt. 



186 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



A doctor from a country called Asbira, of whicli I 
will speak to you hereafter, was leading the ceremonies. 
I find it here as we find it often at home, that the proph- 
et gains in repute the further he travels from home. In 
Goumbi, Quengueza's village, a Bakalai doctor was held 
in high repute. In Biagano, a Goumbi doctor was chief of 
all the prophets. Here among the Bakalai, only an Ashira 
doctor was thought worthy of performing the ceremonies. 

The Ashira doctor of course was covered with all 
sorts of fetiches. He had painted his body in order to 
impress his audience with his great power, and every 
thing he did was done in a mysterious manner. 

They had three pieces, cut from the hind-quarters of 
the elephants, boiling in large pots. Around these they 
danced, while the Ashira doctor chanted praises and pe- 
titions to Mondo and Olombo. 




DAl^CIKG ABOCMD TU£ ELErHANT HEAT. 



A piece was cut off and sent into the w^oods to ap- 
pease the hunger of these deities (or, more likely, of their 



THE ALETHE CASTANEA . 187 

representatives, the leopards, or the bashikouay or hye- 
nas), and then the rest was eaten by the people, all in 
the presence of the doctor. 

Next came the division of the great heaps of uncook- 
ed meat. The town, the town's friends, the hunters, 
the hunters' friends and their friends, all came and got 
shares. I received about fifty pounds for mj^self, then 
besides I had a piece of the trunk, and four of the feet 
were given to me. These, by the way, must have weigh- 
ed more than fifty pounds by themselves. 

As soon as I went back to my place I got an orala 
and smoked my meat, which I intended to keep, as we 
say, for a rainy day, that is, for a day when I would have 
nothing to eat. 

I do not know why, but for a few days after the kill- 
ing of the elephants the country was full of bashikou- 
ays. I could scarcely move anywhere without falling 
in with these fellows, and their bites were, as usual, very 
severe. They had no doubt smelled the elephant flesh, 
and claimed their shares. I noticed that there was a 
curious little bird with these bashikouays, the Alethe 
casianea. This is a beautiful bird, which follows or pre- 
cedes these bashikouays, and feeds on the insects that fly 
away from the ants ; it is a new species. They fly in 
small flocks, and follow industriously the bashikouay ants 
in their marches about the country. The birds eat in- 
sects; and when the bashikouay army routs before it the 
frightened grasshoppers and beetles, this bird, like a reg- 
ular camp-follower, pounces on the prey and carries it off. 

The natives have some superstitions about this bird, 
and it is said by them to have a devil in it. For what 
reason they say so I could not find out 



188 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOM. 

My old enemies the snakes were also quite abundant, 
and as we pushed through the woods we often saw sev- 
eral great anacondas hanging from a projecting bough, 
waiting their prej. I shot a little bird, a very curious 
one, which, in its fall, lodged among some vines. I was 
anxious to get it, and began to climb up after it. Just 
as I was reaching out for my bird, a snake, belonging to 
one of the most venomous kinds found in these woods, 
stuck out his head at me from the thick vine foliage. I 
was very much startled, and dropped down to the 
ground without any loss of time. I could almost feel 
the reptile's breath against my face. It was a great scare. 
People do not get over snake bites very easily, and I am 
sure you are not astonished that I was frightened. 




CHAPTER XXY. 

A DESERTED VILLAGE. — FEAR OF DEATH. — WARS BETWEEN 
VILLAGES. — AFRICAN WILD BOAR. — THE HUNT. 

I HAVE just arrived in a deserted village ; there was 
not a soul to be seen. There was nothing, absolutely 
nothing, to remind us of living man except the aban- 
doned huts. How sad every thing looked all around! 
The plantain-trees were growing back of the huts, and 
young bunches of plantains were gracefully hanging 
down from them. 

Even the little Sycobii birds had left, and only their 
deserted nests on the trees testified that once they had 
built their homes there. 

What had become of the people ? They had left : 
they had abandoned their village. How often I have 
met these abandoned villages in the forests of Africa, 
but especially in the regions inhabited by the Bakalais, 
the Mbondemos, the Mbishos, the Shekianis. 

This village was situated on the broad waters of the 
River Ovenga, about 90 miles south of the equator. As 
I was not afraid of evil spirits, I concluded I should use 
the huts to sleep in at night; but there was tremendous 
opposition at first, for the men who were with me said 
it was a bewitched village; two people had died there 
within a few days of each other ; the place was not good 



190 JVILD LIFE UNDUE THE EQUATOR. 

to live in ; some of us would die if we remained. Poor 
creatures, though daring and brave in the bunt, how 
afraid they are of death ! Hence if a man dies in a vil- 
lage there is a great commotion, if another dies the vil- 
lage must be abandoned. 

A village is scarce built, often the plantations have 
not borne fruit for the first time, when they feel impelled 
to move. Then every thing is abandoned ; they gather 
up what few stores of provisions they may have, and 
start off, often for great distances, to make, with tedious 
labor, a new settlement, which will be abandoned in 
turn after a few months. Sometimes, however, they re- 
main for two or even three months more in the same 
place. 

Many things contribute to their roving habits, but 
first of all I have said is their great fear of death. They 
dread to see a dead person. Their sick, unless they have 
good and near friends, are often driven out of the village 
to die in loneliness in the forest. Those Bakalai have no 
burying-ground. After a man is dead the body is 
thrown anywhere in the forest, and no more attention is 
paid to it. 

The people of these tribes are very superstitious, and 
often after the death of a man several friendless creat- 
ures are accused and condemned in a breath, and mur- 
dered in cold blood. Afterward the village is broken 
up, the people set up again after their wanderings, and 
fix upon some lonely spot for a new plantation and a 
new home. 

What a life this must be, to be all the while vainly 
fleeing from the dread face of death, as if such a thing 
were possible. What can stand still in the world? 



WAHS BETWEEN VILLAGES. 191 

Notliing; absolutely nothing; constant changes are 
taking place. 

These people are of a treacherous disposition, and are 
constantly quarrelling among their neighbors. They are 
most barbarous in their mode of warfare, in which worn- 
(en, children, and even babies are killed. Once while 
staying in a Bakalai village there were two women, who 
were quietly washing, and were killed and left there, un- 
til the people, wondering at their disappearance, looked 
for them, and found them dead. 

When war has once really broken out in the country 
there is no rest or safety. No man or woman in any 
village can take a step in any direction, day or night, 
without fear of death. They lie in ambush to surprise 
each other's villages. If they have guns, they come on 
the sly and shoot through the bark of which their houses 
are made, and kill sleeping persons ; hence no one could 
sleep for two consecutive nights at the same place. In 
passing a tree, sometimes the enemy steals in behind, and 
will spear the poor luckless man, woman, or child. They 
use every unfair means of warfare; and the meaner the 
attack, and the greater the treacher}', the more glory they 
have won. In such times of war the fires are put out 
after dark, because they give light to the enemy, and the 
glare of the fire makes blind those near it, while those 
who come through the darkness can see well. The peo- 
ple keep a dead silence, lest their voices should betray 
their whereabouts ; the hunters are loth to hunt, for fear 
of falling into an ambush of some hidden enemies; the 
women and slaves fear to plant, and therefore every body 
approaches a condition of semi-starvation. This some- 
times lasts for months. At last whole districts are de- 



192 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

populated ; those who are not killed desert their villages 
to seek safety in some remote and unknown spot of the 
forest where they think they may be safer ; hence very 
often I felt quite astonished to meet little villages far 
off. Many of their villages are palisaded, and their dogs 
keep watch. 

Yes, among such people I have lived for a long time 
when there was war in the country, and I never knew if 
by mistake they might not kill me. 

Now I have given you a slight idea of these warlike 
and treacherous Bakalai. I am happy to say that on the 
right bank of the Ovenga Quengueza has succeeded in 
preventing these wild men from making war upon each 
other's villages. 

We have come to shoot wild boar. It is the season 
when they are very fat, for we are in the month of March, 
and I tell you these wild boars of Equatorial Africa are 
glorious eating, and are magnificent beasts to bag. 

Do not think they look like the wild boars they have 
in Europe. Nothing of the kind. It is no easy matter 
to come near enough to have a shot at these wild beasts, 
for they are exceedingly shy. 

Night came, and my fellows were so afraid of evil 
spirits that they kept tremendous fires and kept talking 
all night, and when daylight came they felt so tired that 
they all went to sleep. This will never do, I said to 
myself, for if a man does not sleep at night he certainly 
can not work hard in the day. 

After they awoke they came in a body, friend Malaou* 
en leading, saying that we had better go and make our 
camp far away in the forest, for the place where we were 
was not good at all. I thought some of them might get 



AFRICAN WILD BOAR 1 93 

ill througli fear, so I concluded I had better move, for 
the people would lay the blame upon me. People have 
to be very prudent in such a wild country. 

So we moved our traps a few miles off and built 
our camp ; this was hardly done when a storm burst 
upon us, and the rain poured down by bucketsful, and 
the thunder and the lightning was something terrific. 
It was a good thing that our shades were right, for we 
should have been wet to the skin. 

Early the next morning I shouldered my rifle and set 
off for the wildest part of the wood with friends Malaouen 
and Querlaouen, who now felt quite happy since we had 
left the abandoned village. The woods were pretty hard 
to go through, for the hunting-paths had not been used 
often, for fear of the Bakalai living in the Ashankolo. 

In this gigantic forest there is a most extraordinary 
kind of wild boar, its body being of a bright red-yellow 
color, somewhat like that of an orange. How strange 
they look as they wander through the forest, sometimes 
a few together, at other times twenty or thirty, or even 
larger numbers ! 

That morning we got into new and fresh tracks of 
the wild boars ; the earth was all uprooted by their snouts. 
I am sure they had not come to the place a half-hour be- 
fore we did, and what a havoc they had made! We fol- 
lowed the tracks in hot haste; soon we could hear their 
grunts, and we thought they must be numerous by the 
noise they made. 

How to approach them was the difficult question ; for 

if there is any wild game, this is certainly one of the 

wildest sort I know. If there had been two or three of 

them together we might not have had so much difficulty 
13 



194 WILD LIFE VXLEE THE EQUATOR. 

in approaching them ; but how were we to approach so 
many without being detected? 

So we concluded to go by a roundabout way and try 
to get ahead of them, and then lay in ambush, waiting 
for them to pass. 

The wild boars were in a valley, where the ground was 
somewhat soft, and they would, I thought, continue to fol- 
low it. In the midst of this valley there was a beautiful 
little rivulet of clear water meandering crookedly on in 
the same uneven manner as the narrow valley itself, 
which was flanked on each side by tremendous high 
hills, covered like the valley and all the country round 
with gigantic trees, which bore different kinds of fruits 
and nuts. 

Then we concluded to ascend a hill close by and de- 
scend in as swift a manner as we could into the valley 
on the other side, which was the same one in which we 
were standing : by doing so, we could make a short tsut 
and get ahead of the wild boars, and then choose our 
ground and wait for them. 

The plan succeeded perfectly. After crossing, we 
found a huge dead tree fallen on the ground, and behinl 
it we hid ourselves. 

Soon we heard the grunts of the wild boars coming ; 
we were delighted ; we looked at our guns, then fixed 
the barrels on the trunk of the tree, raised our head^ 
hardly above it, and only so high that our eyes could 
get a glimpse at the wild boars. 

Here they come ! I can see them through the jungle, 
snorting unconsciously and eating what they have up- 
rooted. How little do they think there are such formida- 
ble enemies close at hand 1 They came nearer and near 



A PIECE OF STRATEGY. 



195 



er. Then after looking at each other, as if to say, Is it 
time ? we took steady aim, put our fingers on the triggers, 
and bang ! bang ! bang ! our three guns went off at the 
same time, three wild boars biting the ground, and the 
others giving tremendous leaps. Four of them, crazy 
with fright, came rushing along, leaping over the trunk 
of the trees behind which we were hidden, and right 
above our heads. My goodness 1 if they had come down 
upon us they would have completely smashed us. T 
turned round, fired my second shot, and bagged another. 
" Four wild boars are killed !" we shouted with frantic 
joy ! 




KILLliSU FOUa VV1L1> iiOAliS. 



What splendid animals two of them were ! How big ! 
the wild boars of the black forest in Germany could not 
have compared with them. 

This wild boar is a new species, and I have called it Po- 
tamochoerus aWifrons: that is to say, white-fronted. 



196 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR 

What strange-looking animals! Thej had a long 
muzzle, and on each side there was a large warty protu- 
berance half-way between the nose and the eyes. These, 
and a singular sort of bristle, surround the eyes. The 
ears, which are long and ended in tufts of coarse hair, give 
the animal a strange expression. The bodies of the boars 
were of the color I have mentioned. 

On my return to the U nited States, in 1860, 1 gave a 
full description of this curious animal, and of many oth- 
ers I discovered, before the Boston Society of Natural 
History. I have always retained a pleasant recollection 
of my visit to that society, of its president, Professor Jef- 
fries Wyman, of its secretary, my friend Dr. Kneeland, 
and of many other members, who were wqyj kind to me. 

But how to take away that meat ? We could by no 
possible means carry the meat of four wild boars. So 
myself and Malaouen were to keep watch and sleep in 
the forest while Querlaouen would go and fetch the peo- 
ple to assist us. 

This Potamochcerus alhifrons is a great jumper. I have 
seen no antelope that could leap as it does.; one day 
I saw three of them leap over the Ovenga Kiver, the dis- 
tance being thirty or forty yards. It was the dry season, 
and one of them fell into the water. The bank from 
which they sprung was much higher than the opposite 
one. 




CHAPTER XXYI. 

^N THE WILD FOREST. HOSTILE TRIBES. AN INTRENCHEL 

CAMP. — FORAYS FOR PROVISIONS. 

I AM in the midst of the densest and wildest part of the 
forest, situated not far from the Ashankolo Mountains. 

Who are these three wild-looking men that are with 
me? 

Thej are Querlaouen, Malaouen, and Gambo. 

What are we doing seated on the ground, each one of 
us seeming so thoughtful ? 

We are holding a grand council. 

The country to which we have come is a very danger- 
ous one, for war is raging in the Ashankolo land; and 
though theOvenga River lies between us and the Ashan- 
kola people, and though we are at a good distance from 
them, we do not feel safe. They might come to hunt in 
this very region. The Bakalais of the Ovenga were at 
war with them, or rather the Ashankolo had declared war 
against the people of the Ovenga, and had killed two men 
a few weeks before belonging to the village of a chief 
called Anguilai. 

We ran the chance of being killed at night when 
asleep if these fellows discovered where we were ; and 
during the day they might lie in ambush for us, or they 
might go and fetch a great number of people to attack 
us. 



198- WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQ UA TOE. 

These were some of the many thoughts that suggested 
themselves to us as we talked matters over together. 

Besides Malaouen, Querlaouen, and Gambo, we had two 
boys with us; one was named Njali and the other Nola. 

We agreed that the first thing we must do was to 
build an intrenched camp. 

You will all say at once, " What a wild and reckless 
set of fellows you were to choose such a place for a hunt- 
ing-ground !" 

So we were. We seemed to delight in danger for the 
sake of the excitement it afforded. 

So, having made up our minds what to do, we rose, 
and taking in one hand our gun and in the other an axe, 
we went bravely to work and cut long poles about fifteen 
feet in length, which we brought to the place we had 
chosen for our camp. As we cut these young trees we 
laid our guns close by ; we did not stop cutting these 
poles until we had a few hundreds of them, and for three 
days we were at work as hard as we could. 

After we had collected all the poles we commenced 
building. We had chosen a place where four large trees 
made the four corners of a square. They were about 
thirty feet apart from each other. We then begun to drive 
palisades, making them go down about six inches into 
the ground ; these we tied close together with strong lianas 
we had collected, until at last the square was finished. 
We cut all the underbrush inside, and made a very clean 
place for the interior of our fort. 

Then the question was how to get inside? So we 
made two ladders, one of creepers, flexible like ropes, for 
the outside ; the other, for the inside, was a very strong 
step-ladder. For the latter we cut two poles, and tied 



AN INTRENCHED CAMP. 1C9 

crossed sticks upon them for steps. This ladder, as we have 
said, was for the inside, so that after we should reach the 
top of the palisade we could pull inside our ladder made 
of creepers, and that would thus be quite safe, for we 
knew that no one could leap over the palisade. 

We then, in the inside of the palisade, stuck leaves 
upon the walls, so that if perchance any one came they 
could not get a peep at us. 

In the interior of our square there was a somewhat 
tall, slender tree, up which we could climb and observe 
oar enemies, and get a good shot n,t them in case we 
should be attacked ; besides this, we had made a good 
many loop-holes about seven feet above the ground, so 
that no one outside could see through them, and before 
each we had made a high stand from which we could 
fire upon them at our ease. 

How glad we were when it was over! We had then 
to build some huts inside for ourselves, to shelter us 
from the rain. We built roofs for these huts, which we 
covered with the bark of trees, and under it w^e built an 
orala, to smoke the meat we might get from the game 
we should kill. These oralas are made in the following 
manner. Four sticks about four feet in height, which are 
forked, are stuck in the ground, then cross sticks join 
these, and across them are laid quite a number of sticks. 
This orala w^as of course one of the most useful and nec- 
essary things we required. 

Then we built another shelter for m3^self, and how 
careful they were about this ; it was a real hut, eight feet 
long, six feet broad, with walls five feet high, and the 
ridge of the roof about eight feet in height from the ground. 
There I slept ; the powder was carefully stored, and 



200 WILD LIFE UNDEM THE EQUATOR. 

mucli of it, together with bullets, were buried in the 
ground, so that if any one should come when we were 
absent they would not know where our ammunition was. 
My four men built also another hut for themselves. 

These huts were in the centre of the yards. By the 
time we had finished our camp, our plantains and our 
smoked cassada were stored away carefully ; fortunately 
the coola nut was there abundant, and we would have 
plenty to eat. 

We had three very nice dogs with us, splendid hunt- 
ers ; besides, they would keep watch at night and warn 
us of danger. 

We had also four Ashinga nets ; each one of us had 
his own gun and a spare gun also. 

Malaouen, Gambo, Querlaouen, and I were to hunt, 
while the boys were to attend to the fire-wood and to our 
cooking, and also w^ere to collect the wild nuts or berries 
of the forest. 

All this work was finished, and we went into the for- 
est and collected a large quantity of fire-wood, and I can 
assure you that we had real hard work, and I wish you 
could have seen us. I stood on the top and threw in the 
inside of the fort the wood that was handed to me by the 
others. 

At last a great pile of fire-wood was safely stored in- 
side, and we could withstand a siege. A little brook rose 
from under a rock inside of our palisade not far from 
one of the big trees, so that we had plenty of water to 
drink ; it was a beautiful little spring. 

We felt very cosy and safe. We had only two cook- 
ing-pots with us. I had a good deal of tobacco, for I 
knew Querlaouen, Malaouen, and Gambo to be tremen- 



HUNTING WITH ASHING A NETS. 201 

dous smokers, and they seemed to enjoy their pipes so 
much in the evening when the day's work was over. 

The medicines I had taken with me were quinine, 
laudanum, rhubarb, and a few other articles. I had also a 
bottle of brandy, which I intended to preserve most care- 
fully for a case of need. 

So, after qyqvj thing was built, one fine morning we 
ascended the inside steps, hung down our outside ladder, 
and came out. We had with us the Ashinga nets, with 
which we were going to hunt. We spread them in the 
forest in the same manner as I have described to you in 
''Stories of the Gorilla Country;" but instead of being 
many we were only four people, and we had only four 
Ashingas, yet we were very successful ; we trapped two 
charming gazelles, called ncheri ; and a nchombi, anoth- 
er beautiful little gazelle of reddish color, and captured 
also a kind of wild-cat, which got entangled, and which 
we had to kill on the spot with the butt-end of our guns. 

I ordered the men not to kill the nchombi and one of 
the ncheri, which we seized and tied with native creep- 
ers and carried to our camp, since I wished to keep them 
alive if possible. 

It was a pretty good day's hunt, considering that w^e 
bad not fired a gun, and that we had not been more 
than three miles from our camp. 

As we approached our fort we gave the signal agreed 
upon, which was three separate whistles, imitating the cry 
of a certain bird called pipiyo. 

Soon the heads of the boys peeped out; they brought 
and fxstened the rope-ladder outside, and greeted us 
with a smile which showed their nice filed teeth, and cast 
sly glances at the" game which we had brought. 



202 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

We were glad when we were inside, for our live stock 
had not been ytry easy to carry ; besides, the Ashingas 
were heavy. 

We immediately loosened the cords of the ncheri 
and nchombi, who for a few minutes could not walk, 
but soon afterward found their legs and made most tre- 
mendous leaps, cutting up wonderful capers. They were 
perfectly wild, but it was of no use, they could not leap 
over the palisades. 

Part of the ncheri that had been killed was cut and 
cooked, and we had a most delicious meal. We went to 
sleep in safety, but nevertheless we kept ourgunsby our 
sides. 

Early the next morning Querlaouen and I went to see 
if our little canoe, that had carried us up the river, and 
which we had hidden in a little narrow creek somewhat 
remote from the main river, was still there, and also to 
see if we would not meet with strange human foot-prints, 
which might indicate the near presence of an enemy and 
that we had been discovered. We came back perfectly 
satisfied that no one had discovered our whereabouts and 
that our canoe was quite safe. So we returned to tell 
the news, and in the afternoon we went and set traps for 
monkeys, which were evidently somewhat abundant, as 
we could hear their chattering all day long. Querlaouen, 
besides his gun, had an axe with him, and I carried my 
huge hunting-knife. 

We came to a little spring and felled a small tree 
across for the monkey to use as a bridge ; then not far 
from the end of the tree or bridge we bent a bough, at 
the extremity of which we made a ring. This ring, 
touching the bridge, was fixed in such a manner that the 



I 



^'NOTHING TO WEAIt:' 203 

monkey would have to pass through it to go to the other 
side, and in doing so would start a spring, when the ring 
would fly up before the monkey coukl get through it, 
and thus the animal would be hung by the neck and 
ohoked to death. 

We made two of these traps. 

Then we went and looked for wild honey, but could 
not at first see any bee-hive in the hollows of trees. I 
had just made up my mind that I should like to have 
some honey. Besides, I wanted to get some wax in order 
to make some candles. 

Just as we were returning to the camp we discover- 
ed two bee-hives ; we smoked the bees, and then took 
the honey-combs. 

The ne-xt morning I ^yent right to work to make wax 
with the honey-comb we had collected. After having 
boiled it and made the wax, there was a new difficulty — 
I had no wick. I ha 1 never thought of it before ; of 
course I had not a bit cf cotton with me, and I finally 
concluded that I would tear off the lower part of one of 
the two only shirts I possessed to make wick. Acting 
with the thought, I tore tha shirt I had a good deal 
of trouble, to make these candles. First I dipped the 
whole length of the wick in the hot wax, holding each 
extremity by my hands; then I let the wax which had 
adhered to the wick get cold, and dipped again and again 
by the same process until I had obtained the size of a can- 
dle. I succeeded in making eight candles. 

My clothes were getting very much worn ; my panta- 
loons had been mended over and over again, and were 
getting so old and rotten that I did not know what to do. 
T wanted to save a pair for the sea-shore. So I resolved 



204 



WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 



that we should go Ashinga hunting again, and that 1 
would make clothes from the skins of the wild animals 
we should capture. 

We all turned out with our Ashingas, leaving, of 




S.MOKIMG ODT THE BEES. 



course, Njali and Nola to take charge of the premises. "We 
left them the three spare guns. We took the dogs with us. 
We captured, in the first place, a hyena, which I dis- 
patched as it laid entangled in the net with a bullet 
through the head. It uttered a fearful groan. We cap- 
tured a porcupine, which we killed with a club. Then 



k 



MAKING CLOTHES. 205 

we laid unsuccessfully the Ashingas three times, and I 
began to think that we would have nothing but hyena 
for dinner and supper, and no skins to make clothes 
with. We must make another trial. 

We went a long distance to haul our nets again, and 
then captured two ncheris and two nchombis. We killed 
them on the spot with clubs, and then returned home. 

I insisted on having these four animals skinned, for 
I wanted their skins to make a pair of trowsers. We 
had taken off the hyena skin and left its body on the 
spot, no one fancying the meat, especially as we had 
other game to eat. 

Njali and Nola received us with open arms, but did 
not show their heads above the fence until they had 
heard our peculiar whistle. I was glad of our success, 
for I wanted some clothes very much. 

I dried the skins, and then tried to tan them bv beat- 
ing them, and using the bark of a certain tree. Then 
with the fibres of the leaves of the pine-apple I made 
some thread ; and I had with me strong needles, which 
•I used in preparing the skins of animals. I cut these 
skins in such a shape that I thought I would make from 
them a pretty comfortable pair of pantaloons. 

I wish you had seen me dressed in those pantaloons. 
They were very tough and hard. Then I made a kind 
of shirt with the skin of the hyena ; that is, I joined two 
flat pieces together, left a hole for my head to pass 
through, and on each side holes for my arms. I did not 
want any sleeves. This hyena shirt was short, and only 
reached my waist. How strangely I looked, dressed 
in these long shaggy skins I 

Afterward we went to work, and closed with sticks 



206 



WILD LIFE UNDEE THE EQUATOR 



and branches of trees a little shallow creek — almost a 
pond — which communicated with a larger one, in order 
to prevent the fish from going out, and thus there was a 
prospect of having plenty of fish to eat. Then, when 
this work was done, we went again in search of bee- 
hives, which are abundant in these forests. We dis- 
covered two, which were very high, and, of course, in the 
hollow of the trees. We concluded to come and smoke 
them out the next day. 

These two hives were made by two different kinds of 
bees, one very small black kind, looking almost like a 
little fly, and the other by a bee of the size of our bees 
in America; the honey of the latter is excellent when 
the comb is white and new. 

So after all we were, I thought, in a pretty good 
country, but unfortunately not very safe, on account of 
its warlike inhabitants ; hence we were always on the 
alert for fear that they might find our whereabouts. 




a'SAFi>I>Q Tun: MOiSKEY. 



A TRAPPED MONKEY. 207 

The next day Querlaoaen and I, when visiting mon 
key traps, found that a beautiful ndova had been caught 
He was hanging high in the air quite dead, but the body 
still warm. It had just been trapped. 

These ndovas are most beautiful monkeys, being 
among the prettiest I have ever seen. This was very 
large, and such a fat one I The face of Querlaouen 
grinned with joy at the thought of the splendid feast he 
was to have on our return. The fur is splendid. 

These ndovas are very abundant in the forests of 
Africa, and the hair is of a beautiful dark color. 

The great peculiarity of the animal is his perfectly 
white nose. How strange they look while peeping at 
you in the forest with that strange white spot! They 
are called by naturalists white-nosed monkeys. 




CHAPTER XXYIL 

WE DISCOVER HUMAN FOOT-PRINTS. — WE SPY OUT THE EN 
EMY. A FEMALE GORILLA. MATERNAL FONDNESS. 

One morning, just at daylight, Querlaouen and I, 
without saying a word to Gambo and Malaouen, scaled 
our palisade with the ladder and went to look after the 
traps we had made for the monkeys, in order to see if 
we had caught some more. 

We were going silently into the forest, and as noise- 
lessly as we could, in the hope of seeing an antelope or 
wild boar, or some other kind of wild animal on our way. 
At last we reached the banks of a little stream, situated, 
as I judged, about six or seven miles from our camp, 
when lo ! Malaouen and I saw what threw us into a great 
state of excitement. 

Human foot-prints ! 

Yes, there was no mistake about it ; there were eight 
foot-prints in the mud on the banks of the creek, and 
these were the marks of four men who had been there. 
They were fresh tracks. 

Who were they ? 

Were they warlike Bakalais of the Ashankolo coun- 
try ? Were they enemies or friends ? 

Querlaouen and I looked in each other's face without 
saying a word, and by instinct both of us looked most 



WU DISCO VER FOOT-PRINTS. 200 

carefully at our guns, and we began to mistrust every 
tree Ground us, for some one might be hiding behind 
them, and getting ready to send a bearded spear through 
us. 

We did not like at all the idea of people being in our 




WE DI600VEB FOOT rEINTS. 

hunting-ground, but we liked still less the idea that these 
people might be our enemies. 

My pair of revolvers were in good order, and I do not 
know why, bat I always felt very strong and reckless 
when I had them with the belt holding them round 



210 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQ VA TOR. 

my waist, and that very morning I felt confident and 
secure. 

After consultation, we concluded that we would fol- 
low the foot-prints to the point they had come from, 
which we did, and at last reached a spot where we saw a 
small canoe tied to a tree. This canoe certainly did not 
belong to any people we knew, and consequently must 
come from some far village situated on the very head- 
waters of the Ovenga Eiver, and belonged no doubt to 
those savage and warlike Bakalai inhabiting that wild 
mountainous region. 

Our great object was to prevent them from following 
our tracks, and thus finding our camp. What was to be 
done? 

Our foot-prints were mixed with theirs, and my shoes 
had left unmistakable marks of their heels and soles, and 
I wondered what those fellows would think in seeing 
them. My only hope was that they would be seized 
with terror, and that in those marks they might see the 
tokens of a mighty spirit. 

Close by, entering into that creek, there was a beauti- 
ful little rivulet of clear water, whose pebbly bed sug- 
gested to me that we had better follow its course, and 
then make a short cut and find our way the best we 
could. 

Another idea occurred to me that Querlaouen and I 
had better ascend some tree not far off, and wait and see 
really who these men were. 

So we ascended the pebbly stream, leaving no marks 
behind us, and then made for the forest again, and pro= 
ceeded almost to the spot where the canoe was. Not far 
from there were two short trees, the thick foliage of 



WHAT WE SAW. 211 

which would shelter us from any ordinary gaze, and whose 
heavy limbs would afford us comfortable rest. These 
two trees were very close together. Querlaouen ascended 
one, and I ascended the other by the help of the lianas 
and creepers which hung from their branches to the 
ground. Our guns were slung on our backs. We nev- 
er uttered a word, but fixed ourselves as comfortably 
as we could, and in such manner that we could fire 
at our enemies if attacked. Malaouen looked at his 
gun. I did the same, and then petted my two re- 
volvers, as if to say, You, boys, are the good fellows for 
a true fight. 

We were as silent as two statues, waiting patiently for 
something to turn up. 

At last we thought we heard voices in the far dis- 
tance, which we had at first taken for the chatter of 
monkeys. The noise came nearer and nearer, and we 
finally distinguished the sound of human voices. 

I got so excited that I could hardly breathe, and every 
beat of my heart became very distinct. 

At last we saw four stalwart fellows, tattooed all over, 
covered with hunting and war fetiches, armed to the teeth 
with spear?, and two of them carried Ashinga nets, with 
which they had been hunting on a small scale, and had 
with them one gazelle (a ncheri). 

Suddenly coming to their canoe, they saw Querlaouen's 
foot-prints, which threw them into a great state of excite- 
ment, when one of them pointed to the other, my foot- 
prints, saying, "What are those marks? they must be the 
marks of a spirit!" They looked at them, and suddenly 
an uncontrollable panic seized the four, and they rushed 
for their canoe, seized their paddles, and went down the 



212 WILD LIFE UNDEM THE EQUATOM. 

stream with the utmost precipitation, as if fire and brim- 
stone were after them. 

In the wink of an eye they were out of sight, and 
Querlaouen and I came down from our trees. We had 
not been mistaken. The fellows were Bakalai of the 
Ashankola country. 

It was late in the day, and there was no hope of our 
reaching our fortified camp before dark. We moved to- 
ward it, and at sundown we collected fire-wood, lighted 
three tremendous piles of it, and soon had splendid fires, 
cooked the three plantains each of us had for our dinner, 
and after our meal Malaouen and I had a grand chat. 

Querlaouen is a splendid fellow. I love him dearly, 
and we are sworn friends. I feel that if any one 
should try to injure or kill him I should fight to the 
death for him. He is so brave, he is so kind-hearted, 
such a noble specimen of a savage as we seldom see ! 
I wish I could have only been able to root out of him 
his belief in witchcraft and fetiches. 

Querlaouen then told me his history. 

" Chaillee," said he, " my father belonged to a clan 
which lived in the Ashankolo Mountains, and in his 
younger days had crossed a large river, called the 
Ngouyai. He was the chief of a village, and a great 
warrior. In the country where we lived there was 
nothing but fighting and fighting ; village was against vil- 
lage, and often brother against brother; not a day passed 
that some one was not killed. You know our mode of 
warfare ; we kill any one, old man, woman, or babe — we 
have no mercy. One night my father's village was at- 
tacked. We fought and fought, and at last repulsed the 
enemy, who fled in dismay. My father was killed, two 



A FEMALE G ORILLA. 213 

sisters of mine were killed, also several other people of 
the village. Then we moved toward the banks of the 
Ovenga ; we soon came down the stream, and now I have 
grown a man, and live where my village is. I only wish 
you would live all the time among us. We should take 
such care of you." 

After fixing our fires we went to sleep, and early the 
next morning we made for our camp. We had hardly 
gone two miles into the woods, when lo! I heard a kind 
of chuckle which told me that a gorilla was not far off. 

The sound came from a densely-wooded and dark ra- 
vine, and from the very bottom of it. When we reached 
the place we found it to be one of those ugly bogs where 
you go knee-deep into the mud, walking on the roots of 
trees, and sometimes get stuck fiast in this position. 

The gorilla was right in the midst of the bog ; it was 
a female, and at every moment we expected to see a large 
male standing before us, roaring like a demon, and asking 
us what we came to do in this dark recess of the forest, 
where it had made its abode with his wife, and perhaps 
his baby gorilla. 

How carefully we looked at our guns I how watchful 
our eyes. were! We were not to be easily surprised. 
The bog was like one of the worst kind we have m Amer- 
ica in the overflowed and woody land of the Western 
country; only here we have creepers, thorny bushes, and 
hanging lianas, and grass that cuts like a razor. 

We entered the swamp, and went nearer and nearer the 
sound we had heard first, and came to a dry spot, when lo I 
we spied a female gorilla and her young baby. The 
baby was very small, a very dear little baby it was to its 
mother, for she appeared with her extremely black face, 



214 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR 

to look at it with great fondness. I was disarmed ; ] 
could not possibly fire. I seemed spell-bound, and could 
not raise my gun to fire. Yes, there was something too 
human in that female and her offspring ; it hung by her 
breast, but, unlike our babies, who have to be entirely sup 
ported, its little hands clutched its mother's shoulders 
and helped it to support itself. The little fellow gave a 
shrill and plaintive cry, and crawled from its mother's 
arms to her breast to be fed, and the mother lowered her* 
head and looked at her offspring, and with his little fin- 
gers he pressed and pressed her breast, so that the milk 
could come more freely. 

On a sudden the mother gave a tremendous cry, and 
before I knew it she had disappeared through the forest. 

I would not have missed this scene for a great deal, 
and I wish that you had all been with me to see it, for I 
know that perhaps such scenes may never be seen again 
by a civilized man ; I knew that it had never been seen 
before. The gorilla will one day disappear. A day will 
come when he who writes these pages will have been long 
dead and forgotten, but perhaps the record of what he 
has seen may, like the record of Han no, fall into the 
hands of some one, and it will be read like a strange 
tale. 

I have brought away, altogether, thirty-one gorilla 
skins and skeletons ; I have captured more than a dozen 
live gorillas, young ones, of course, and, altogether, I 
must have seen at different times during my twelve 
years* explorations more than three hundred of them. 



CHAPTER XXYIIL 

BOW WE WERE RECEIVED AT CAMP. THREATENED WITH 

STARVATION. A NIGHT IN CAMP, MALAOUEN's STORY. 

We left the gorilla scene I have just described to you 
in the preceding chapter, and made for our camp. As 
we came in sight of it Querlaouen gave the peculiar whis- 
tle agreed upon to announce our arrival, and soon after 
we saw the head of Gambo and Malaouen peeping out 
above the fence, also the heads of the two boys Njali 
and Nola. 

The ladder was handed down to us ; soon we were 
inside, and, before I knew it, Malaouen was hugging me 
as hard as he could ; when he had done, and before I 
had time to breathe and free myself from his embrace en- 
tirely, I was hugged by friend Gambo. The boys jump- 
ed around, and there was tremendous excitement in the 
camp. The poor fellows had been very anxious, and did 
not know what had become of us. When night came 
they became very uneasy ; perhaps we had been killed 
by the Ashankolo Bakalni, or by some wild beasts. 

Gambo, looking with pride into Malaouen's face, said, 
" Did I not tell you that they would come back all safe ?" ' 
They were washed with the chalk of the Alumbi, cover- 
ed with their fetiches, and had gone through all sorts of 
heathen ceremonies to find out whether we were safe. 
The little wooden idol of Gambo had also been consult 



216 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

ed. Gam bo is a celebrated doctor who can tell future 
events; and, as a proof, he pointed us to his friend, 
shouting, " Did I not tell you that they would return 
safely ?" 

Both Gambo and Malaouen had been looking at us 
with keen eyes upon our arrival, to know if we had 
^i:;orne with a well-provided larder, and seemed somewhat 
disappointed when they saw us empty-handed, for they 
had fancied us coming back with a fat monkey or a nice 
gazelle. 

There was nothing in the camp, with the exception 
of the nchouibi and ncheri gazelles which we had kept 
alive, and these I did not wish to kill then. So we con- 
cluded that Gambo and the two boys should go to a se- 
cluded plantation belonging to Malaouen and gather 
plantains, while Malaouen, Querlaouen, and myself would 
go hunting and try to kill a wild boar. It was the sea- 
son when these latter were splendid eating. In the 
mean time we would collect nuts and live upon them ; 
if we could not find these, we would then quietly starve, 
waiting for Gambo and the boys with their plantains. 

We all bade good-by to friend Gambo, and to Njali 
and Nola, wishing them good luck and plenty of nuts on 
tlie road to fill their empty stomachs ; and as they disap- 
peared they reciprocated our wishes about the nuts, and 
we had a jolly laugh. 

After Gambo's departure we held a great council, and 
agreed that we had better empty the little creek we had 
dammed to prevent the fish from going out, and see if we? 
would meet with good fortune there. So we took our 
kettle with us, and every thing else that could draw 
water, and started, leaving our camp entirely unprotect- 



1 



DRA I NINO UR FISH-POND. 219 

ed. I need not tell you that we liad our guns, and plen- 
ty of powder, shot, and bullets. 

It was no small work to empty this creek or little 
pond, I can assure you. For hours we went on dipping 
our kettles and baskets and throwing the water out, until 
at last the water became shallow, and we could see great 
quantities of ground fish, called niozi^ together with 
other large ones whose names I forget. These niozi are 
splendid little fishes, and the natives think a great deai 
of them. In the dry season a great many are caught, 
and they are smoked and kept for hard times. 

"We made a bountiful harvest, and had to make bask- 
ets with the branches of trees in order to carry our loads 
to the camp. Then we lighted fires under our oralas to 
smoke the fish, and after cooking we ate some of them. 

We had had a grand success with the fish, and now 
we determined to try our hands at a wild boar hunt, 
which is certainly one of the most difficult, for the wild 
boar is very shy in these forests ; but when fat, the ani- 
mal is the nicest game one can kill, for the flesh is very 
savory and delicious. 

And successful we were. Two large enormous wild 
boars were bagged, one of them by myself — a splendid 
fellow, weighing several hundred pounds. We were 
very thankful that these two fellows were killed within 
about two miles from the camp. We disemboweled 
them, cut their hind and fore quarters apart, and the 
rest of the body in large pieces, and brought the meat to 
the camp. We had to make several journeys, till I be- 
gan to feel so tired that I wished the boar meat any- 
where else, but we must make hay while the sun shines. 

In the evening we had bright fires under the oralas. 



220 WILD LIFE UXDER THE EQUATOR. 

This is the way to smoke meat here : we boil the meat 
for a short time, and then put it over the fire on the 
oralas, and leave it there until it is perfectly smoked. 

What a splendid flavor, and how nice the meat would 
have been if we could only have some plantains to eat 
with it ! When is Gambo coming ? How near is he 
on the road ? Have the elephants or gorillas destroyed 
the plantation of plantain-trees where they have gone? 
Such were the questions we asked ourselves. People 
can not live on fish and meat alone. That evening we 
fed on boar's meat, thankful for- having been so success- 
ful. 

The next morning the voice, or rather the peculiar 
whistle agreed upon outside, told us that Gambo had 
come. I was the first to peep my head above the fence, 
when I saw friend Gambo and Njali and Nola loaded 
with plantain and cassada, and we gave them a grand 
hurrah of welcome. 

I wish you could have seen the face of Gambo as he 
looked at the wild-boar meat which was being smoked; 
he was tremendously hungry, he said, as soon as he saw 
the meat. So we prepared food ourselves for them, as 
we wanted them to rest, they looked so tired. They ate 
such quantities of wild boar! I was glad they had 
brought some Cayenne pepper with them and some lem- 
ons. I had some salt, but no one could take any without 
my permission. 

We remained in the camp all day, lying down on our 
beds of leaves and taking naps from time to time, my 
men meanwhile smoking their pipes and telling stories. 
Gambo swore that he saw a ghost, a real evil spirit, and 
they all believed it except myself. We had a grand 



A NIGHT IN CAMP. 221 

lime listening to Gambo's stories. The boys swore that 
what Gambo said was all true. They had seen the 
ghost too. 

If you could have had a peep at us, you would have 
seen us inside of our fortress by the side of a bright fire 
round our orala, enjoying and warming ourselves. We 
were perfectl}^ ^lappy ; how the men seemed to enjoy 
their smoke of tobacco ! Malaouen had been collecting 
some palm wine, and each of them had had a good 
draught of the beverage — the empty calabash was now 
lying by their side. 

Our nchombi and ncheri were getting somewhat 
tame, and were lying on the ground not far from us. 
They had got accustomed to the fire and to ourselves. 
Our dogs were there also ; the poor ^ellows had had a 
hard fare of late. 

Each one of us had one hand resting on his gun, which 
was supported by a forked stick, stuck in the ground 
for that purpose, and our hunting-bag was hung by 
the side of the gun. In our bags we had each of us a 
flask full of powder, two or three scores of bullets, and 
shot of two or three sizes. We could seize all these in 
an instant, if danofer were to threaten us. In such a wild 
country people must never fancy themselves secure, and 
must be always ready for any emergency, for any fight- 
ing against the savages, or against the attacks of the 
ferocious leopard ; and I got so accustomed to carry 
arms that I never left my gun by itself if I went any- 
where, however short the distance might be; my re- 
volvers, of course, hanging alwaj's by my side. 

I was dressed with the clothes I had made from the 
skins of wild animals. I wish I could have gone into 



222 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQ UA TOR. 

the woods like my men, that is to say, with almost noth 
ing to cover them. 

If you could have had a peep at us, you would have 
seen us as I have just been describing ourselves to you ; 
and I have no doubt many of you would have been 
glad to join our party. I love to look back upon those 
days. It was a wild life indeed, one that no civilized 
man had led before me, for no one had ever gone into 
such a country. 

( Friend Malaouen then told us the story of a leopard, 
and began thus : 

" When I was a boy our clan lived on the banks of 
the Rembo Ngouyai, a river which flows the other side 
of the Ashankolo Mountains, and which you have not 
seen, Chaillee. 

" The village where my parents lived was very large, 
and, as the people were always at war, it was fenced 
about. While there, one of our men disappeared, and 
was changed into a leopard. From that time people 
from time to time began to disappear; they were car- 
ried away by that leopard, and we could only see the 
clots of blood left behind, but could not trace them into 
the woods. We were afraid — for nothing is so terrible 
as a leopard that was once a man. No spear can go 
through him, no trap can ever catch him, and woe to the 
man who ever tries to face the beast ;" and, as Malaouen 
said this, his face and that of Querlaouen and Gambo 
contracted themselves with fear ; their superstitions were 
very strong, and overcame the great courage they pos- 
sessed. I could hear distinctly the breathing of each 
man, as by instinct each seized his gun near by. 

Then Malaouen continued : 



A WOMAN CHANGED INTO A LEOrARD. 223 

" One day several women had gone to the plantation 
with me, and as we returned to the village, it was just 
getting dark, when lo I I heard a tremendous, a fearful 
scream from the woman ahead of mb, and I had just 
time to see through the darkness a tremendous leopard 
carrying her away into the woods. We all shouted, but 
in vain. All became silent; the leopard had disappear- 
ed with its prey. Fear seized upon us, and we made off 
for the village with the utmost speed. 

'' When we brought the news, there was great conster- 
nation and wailing, for the woman who had been taken 
away was very beautiful. 

" The next day we danced round the mbuiti, and the 
mbuiti told us that we should kill the leopard. 

"So thirty men prepared themselves for the hunt 
We cooked the war dish, bled our hands, covered our- 
selves with our war fetiches, marked our bodies with the 
ochre of the Alumbi, invoked the spirits of our ancestors 
to be with us, and departed. 

" Thfc day before some people came to the place where 
they had seen the leopard's foot-prints, and not far ofr' was 
a tremendous jungle, very thick, and several trees had 
been brought down by a tornado. The leopard's lair was 
there. 

" At last we came round the lair. Some said the leop- 
ard was not there, while others said he was. In the mean 
time we shouted, and all the time our spears were in read- 
iness, and the dogs were barking, we had a hope that it 
would spring on one of them, then we would transpierce 
it with our spears. 

" When a man who said the leopard was not there 
first entered the jungle, he had hardly made a step into 



224 WILD LIFE UNDEM THE EQUATOR. 

it, when lo ! a terrible cry sprung from among us. The 
leopard, whicli was probably watching, with a tremendous 
leap sprung on the intruder, his claws fastened deeply into 
his shoulder, and the teeth of his powerful jav;s holding 
the neck of the man, who uttered a fearful shriek. In 
less time than I can tell you the leopard was covered 
^ith the spears that had gone through him ; he dropped 
down dead with the man whom he had killed." 

They all shouted, " Yes, this leopard had been once a 
man who was possessed with witchcraft." 

My breath was becoming short with excitement, and 
I was glad when the story was over, for the sweat was 
f'ist coming down from my face. 

We turned the meat on the other side on the orala, 
and left our three native dogs, Kambi, Goa and Andeko, 
to take care of the premises (they were now lying by the 
fires, enjoying the heat thoroughly), and then we went to 
sleep. 

During the night I woke, thinking I heard a boom- 
ing sound like that of heavy footsteps, when the dogs 
began to bark, and soon I heard a crash through the for- 
est. It was a herd of elephants which was wandering 
not far from us, and then the forest resumed its wonted 
stillness. 

Now I had remained a long time at the head-waters 
of the Ovenga — a long time has gone by since the last 
chapter. Months had been spent in that region, and 1 
thought now of descending the river to visit my settle- 
ment of Washington on the sea-side. It was high timiC. 
I was still suffering from fever attacks, and had not 
quinine enough left for a large dose. 

Not only was I sick, but also poor and ragged. My 



DESIRE TO RETURN. 225 

clothes were torn and patched, and I looked in reality 
very little better than my negro friends. My stock of 
powder was small, my bullets were nearly exhausted, 
and my small shot were almost gone. I was wearing my 
last pair of shoes. My goods were all gone, and skins of 
animals made a great part of my garments. 

The numerous hardships of this long trip ; the sleeping 
night after night in wet clothes; the tramping through 
rain, through rivers, and under the hot sun ; the sufferings 
from the intolerable gouamha^ and the still less tolerable 
starvation; the attacks of fever that followed one upon 
the other — all these had done their work upon me. 
Food had been scarce, very scarce for a long time, and I 
began to feel as if I wanted a long rest. I wanted to 
breathe the salt air; I wanted to see the deep blue sea, 
and to look at the waves which came in heavy surfs upon 
the beach ; I wanted to see that sea on which I expected 
to sail one day for home. 

Do you not think that I deserved to go back ? I had 
worked hard, very hard. I had made beautiful collec- 
tions ; and I was to carry with me gorillas, hippopotami, 
manitee, nshiego-mbouve, kooloo-kamba, no end of birds 
(more than two thousand), a great many monkeys, and 
the skins of several hundreds of animals. I had work- 
ed hard to kill them, and worked still harder to stuff 
them, hunting them during the day, and preparing their 
skins during the night. So I told friend Quengueza we 
must go. 

I called the Bakalai together and told friend Obindji 

that his Ntangani must leave him. As soon as I said this, 

the old chief said, " Neshi (no). What will Obindji do 

without his Ntangani ?" They all shouted, " What shall 
15 



226 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQUATOR. 

we do without our Ntangani?" The women shouted, 
" Chaillee, you must not go !" 

Gambo, Malaouen, and Querlaouen made long faces 
and were sad, for we had a real affection for each other, 
we were such great friends, and how could it be otherwise ? 
We had braved danger together ; we had gone through 
hardships and starvation together; many and many a 
night had we spent together in the forest. Of any wild 
animal they killed I was sure to have-a piece; the best 
plantains were sure to be mine ; the nicest fishes their 
women caught they brought to me. How kind they 
were to me, how gentle ! No children could have been 
more docile, and yet how fierce, how brave, when the 
day of battle or of danger came ! 

I was sorry to leave, for I had come to love these wild 
men who had never seen a white man before. I had 
also a kind of affection for the country, where, in the dis- 
covery of new and strange animals, I had enjoyed one of 
the greatest pleasures a naturalist can have. The rough 
life was forgotten when I looked at my precious collec- 
tions, and the thought of a gorilla even now enabled me 
to shake off the fever, and gave strength to my feeble 
limbs. 

Quengueza, too, was tired of bush life, and had several 
times sworn that he had never known a man like me ; 
that he could not understand what was moving me; that 
T had a heart of njego (leopard). His Majesty called 
those Bakalais his bushmen, and to whatever village he 
would set his foot he had a right at once to at least a 
wife. 

Quengueza is the best friend I ever had in Africa, in- 
deed one of the best friends I ever had anywhere. This 



PARTING DEMONSTRATIONS. 229 

old and powerful chief — the dread in his younger days 
of all the tribes around — the man whom every body re- 
spected, the man whose word was law, was gentle with 
me, was kind to me, and never did a single mean thing, 
never took any advantage of me ; and whatever I said 
was sure to be attended to, if possible. 

Going to a hunt, his last words were always to those 
who went with me, " Take care of my white man ;" and, 
as he often said, if he had been a young man he would 
have gone with us. Every fowl or goat he had he gave 
to me, every bit of game his slaves or his friends killed 
for him was mine, and when we travelled in company we 
always ate together, and we always managed to make a 
pleasant table. For I wanted to show these people the 
difference between civilized and savage life, and Quen- 
gueza always ate with a fork and on a plate. I love old 
Quengueza, and it makes me happy to think that he 
knows I love him. 

As we were preparing to go, my Bakalai friends came 
in with presents of provisions. Baskets of cassava, 
smoked-boar hams, smoked fishes, sweet potatoes, were 
brought as free-will offerings. 

Malao.uen, Gambo, and Querlaouen were always near 
me, their wives came every day to see me, and their chil- 
dren were always around me. All the Bakalai seemed to 
me to be kinder than ever. 

Good Obindji seemed so sorry ! The evening before 
my departure I called him into my hut and gave him a 
nice coat and a red cap, which I had kept especially for 
him, and to his head wife I gave a necklace of large 
beads. I did not forget friends Malaouen, Gambo, and 
Querlaouen. 



230 WILD LIFE UNDER THE EQVATOIi. 

When the morning arrived, our canoes were on the 
beach. I was on the shore ready to embark; Obindji 
stood near me ; every woman and man brought to me a 
parting gift. I was very much touched by their simple 
ways. 

When all was ready for a start, Macondai, my boy, 
fired a gun, and then I swung the American flag to the 
breeze, the first time that it or any other flag of a civilized 
nation was over these waters. The people shouted, and 
we were off; and as we glided down, and before we disap 
peared by the bend of the river, I saw Obindji's hand 
waving farewell to me. 

Presently several miles down the stream we passed 
Querlaouen's plantation. He and his kind wife and their 
children stood on the shore and beckoned me to stop. 
We paddled in, and the good fellow silently put into my 
canoe another smoked-boar ham, while his wife gave me 
a great basket of sweet potatoes. As we started away 
again, the wife shouted, " When you come back bring 
me some beads." The children cried out, " When you 
come back bring us some clothes." But old Querlaouen 
stood still and silent, like a black statue, until, by a turn 
of the river, he was lost to our sio^ht. 

Quengueza accompanied me to Washington and Bia- 
gano, and all of the Goumbi people that had canoes accom- 
panied us, beating tam-tams, singing songs, and firing 
guns as we descended the stream. 

Quengueza was bringing back safely to Eanpano his 
friend Chaillee. At last we reached the place where the 
old bamboo house was, and the whole population turned 
out to receive me, headed by King Eanpano and old 
Kinkimongani, my housekeeper, and brother to the 



AU EEVOnt. 231 

King. I found my house undisturbed, all my valuables 
and goods safe, and my live stock on hand and in good 
condition, and made old Kinkimongani very proud by 
expressing my satisfaction. He said, " Now you tell me 
what I stole ?" And King Ranpano exclaimed, " Ah ! we 
don't steal from our white man. We are people, we have 
a heart that feels, we love our white man, for he is the 
first that ever came to live among us." 

And now I must say good-by again to you ; and I 
wish that, in reading this book, you may think that you 
have been travelling with me for a while in the great 
forests of the Equatorial regions of Africa. I have many 
more things to say to you, but will wait for another year 
before I do so. 

I hope that I have been able to instruct as well -as'^to 
amuse you, and that, as the j^ears go by, and you become 
men and women, you may remember some of the stories 
I have told you. Some of you, no doubt, have seen me, 
while others do not know me. My great wish is that 
you may think kindly of me, and remember him who 
will always be happy to call himself the boys' and girls' 
friend. 




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